Sea of Souls
by Black' Victor Cachat
Summary: The Straw Hats failed and died, somehow passing over to another universe where they became 'Hollows.' Quickly bored of the endless wastes of Hueco Mundo, they try and figure out what to do next, much to the detriment of the peace and sanity of Aizen, Urahara, Soul Society, and the rest of the worlds.
1. Amidst Endless, Boring Dunes

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, Antony444, and MasterQwertster. Make sure to check out the stories the last two have done!

Awesome image done by MasterQwertster. Go check out their DeviantArt page for other related images!

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For those of you who prefer to read in Spanish, Pandaman300 has been absolutely amazing and has become. Go to Wattapad under 'Cheamer' to find it!

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 1: Amidst Endless, Boring Dunes

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Hueco Mundo.

The Dimension that rests between that of the Human World, and the afterlife of Soul Society; and home of the Hollows. There the corrupted spirits dwell, using their supernatural powers to hunt and devour the souls of living and deceased Humans . . . and each other.

Under the endless moon that is the only source of light to this world, the Hollows know only endless battles for survival. Even if they leave to the other two worlds, they are attacked by the Soul Reapers of Soul Society. This is the life they know, and nothing—

"AARGH! IT'S SO BORING!"

With a sigh, the orange feline lightly patted the complainer on his head. "Yes, yes, we know, Luffy. We're going through it with you."

"It's just sand, sand, sand, sand, sand—"

This time Nami hit him to make him shut up.

"Ow! Nami!" he pouted.

"We get it!" she snapped. "This whole world is nothing but endless, white sand dunes, over a forest that is nothing but the same trees again and again. Isn't that why you decided we should go to Las Noches, Senchou?"

With a groan, Luffy sat up from lying on the dune, nodding.

To any Human, they would be strange and surreal. Nami looked like an oversized, orange housecat, except covered in white armour, including a mask, with a few tuffs of fur sticking out. There was also a hole that went right through where her heart was supposed to be, and all the way out her back . . .

As for her companion, he resembled a monkey, except he still visibly appeared closer to a regular Human; like a hybrid between them. He also wore armour and a mask coloured white, but his hole wasn't over his heart. Instead it was in the exact center of a strange X on his chest, which was reminiscent of a scar.

Any Hollow and most Soul Reapers who stopped to really look at Luffy would realize the horrifying truth: Vasto Lorde.

The highest class of Hollows, each one possessing powers surpassing all but the barest handful of Soul Reapers.

The mightiest apex predator, drenched in the blood of thousands upon thousands of souls.

After that altercation however, it was unlikely that any observer would realize it, because Nami, an Adjuchas, and thus lower class, had just. Hit. Him.

Without being promptly torn apart and eaten.

Or eaten alive if Luffy was impatient.

It was just not done.

 _Fear_ should define their relationship. Her cowering before his very presence.

Ignoring this fundamental law of the universe, he instead walked over to join the eight other Hollows he was travelling with. They were all relaxing right now, with a few still licking up blood from their latest meal of a particularly large and stupid Adjuchas.

"Are we sure it's real though?" a chameleon Adjuchas chimed in.

"Huh? Whaddya mean, Usopp?" asked a quizzical Luffy.

"Las Noches. We've only heard a little bit about it from other Hollows we've fought, that it's a massive palace somewhere in the desert, where things are at least different. Except how do we know it's real, or that it'll even be interesting?"

Visibly scowling even beneath his mask, Luffy clenched his fists and glared at Usopp. "That doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if it's real or not or if it'll be better than all this _sand_! We're free and exploring, and having at least some fun while were doing it!"

None of the others dared question what they would do if Las Noches did not live up to expectations. Dimly they knew they wanted something other than this, yet those memories, like too many others, were shrouded in mist.

Only a few details remained:

They had died.

Worse, they had _failed_.

Memories of what exactly they had failed at were lost now, except they all still remembered they had failed to achieve their dreams.

 _Dreams_.

That word meant something important to them.

 _Treasure_ , was another such word.

 _Senchou_ , a term of respect they all used for Luffy.

Their first clear memory though, was when all ten of them had first woken up to see each other. Each of them resembled some sort of beast, covered in white armour, with a large hole in their chests. Fatal for any other species except for their own: Hollows.

The souls of those who died consumed by regret, rage, despair, or other negative feelings that lingered within them beyond death, until they were consumed by them. Consumed, and then left with an insatiable hunger for those same feelings they could no longer truly feel or appreciate, yet craved all the same. In every sense of the word, their hearts were lost to them.

As they stared at one another, instinctively they knew what they must do: Protect.

Each and every one of them felt those individuals were more precious than their own lives.

It would be a long time before they realized how impossible this was.

Following their descent into supernatural monsters, their hearts replaced by pitiless holes right through them, a Hollow was driven by an eternal and insatiable hunger to devour other souls, living or dead, to fill the void. And other Hollows were rich in spiritual energy.

So ten Hollows together in one place should only mean one bloodbath, as the strong feasted upon the weak.

Moreover, each and every one of them was a Menos-class Hollow, born when the strongest of regular Hollows cannibalized each other until one massive mass of souls and identities remained: a Gillian Menos Grande.

While doing that, the souls blend together and individuality is lost. While a Gillian becomes massive and brimming with vast spiritual power, they are also mindless. However, on the rare occasion when one of the cannibalized Hollow's abilities and ego far exceed those of the others, a Gillian that has not yet lost its individuality will appear. That being devours other Gillians in order to continue its evolution.

Until they become an Adjuchas class.

Born with an insatiable appetite for their own kind, to both live, and to retain who they are.

For ten Adjuchas to just suddenly meet without any prior memory was inexplicable, even if the inevitable outcome was obvious.

Instead . . .

 **—Seas of Souls—**

[Flashback]

 _The first one to react was one of the smallest of the Hollows, appearing like a monkey, more animal-like than later in his evolution. He stood up, and then turned his back on the others –because he instinctively trusted them with it— to look around._

 _Endless, white dunes in every direction, under a night sky._

 _"This is boring," he declared._

 _A tension the other nine did not even initially recognize lifted, and they all sighed with relief._

 _"Guess we'll have to do something about it then, Senchou," declared a tiger Adjuchas. The mask over his face covered one eye, and his hair was green._

 _The monkey looked back at him. "Zoro," he stated, almost as if to remind himself._

 _"Luffy," the tiger returned._

 _"Why, why did you call me that? 'Senchou'?"_

 _The tiger hesitated, than shrugged. "It just seemed right."_

 _"I'm Nami," an orange-haired cat offered._

 _"Sanji," a ram said. He gave the cat a strange look, feeling as if his response to her should be more . . . enthusiastic. Except he seemed to be lacking something to produce those feelings._

 _"Usopp the brave!" proudly declared a chameleon._

 _"Chopper," chirped a little brown one, furrier than the rest._

 _"Robin," a multi-armed falcon, the only other female, softly offered._

 _"FRANKY!" boomed a large, burly figure, with a single horn jutting out of their mask._

 _"Brook, yo ho ho ho!" laughed a tall, spindly, boney creature._

 _"Jinbe," rumbled the last, vast, with large tusks._

 _"We," the monkey, Luffy, struggled to say, "are nakama. We belong with each other."_

 _"Yes," the all said as one, revelling in the strange sensation it birthed._

 _Their leader, their Senchou, took another look around. "What is this place?"_

 _"I do not know," the falcon said apologetically._

 _"Me neither," the cat added. Both felt as if such information was their responsibility._

 _"Well then," Luffy declared, as he picked a random direction. "We'll just have to explore it and find out!"_

 _And with that they set off._

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Present

The sense of adventure fell flat once they realized every single night (there was no day) was the same.

They also quickly learned how alone they were. As far as they travelled, they never met anyone else they could be with.

The first time they met other Hollows, they ate them.

Those Hollows had been three other Adjuchas, who had the misfortune to meet each other at the same time, and started fighting each other when the ten newcomers stumbled upon them.

The pack of Hollows saw red and descended upon their prey, tearing them apart in a mindless savagery that only ended when Sanji and Zoro caught themselves fighting over the same leg.

A flash of disgust rippled through them, before they reluctantly resumed their meal.

Survival was paramount.

Survive to protect the others.

No matter the odds, no matter the cost.

They knew with a deep foreboding that it would not be the last time they would be forced to do this.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 _"—kill, consume—"_

 _"—Not my babies!"_

 _"Blood!"_

 _"—illed that Shinigami—"_

 _"Hunger."_

 _"Hunger!"_

 _" **Hunger!** "_

Quivering with effort, Chopper fought to force down the souls of the Hollow he had just eaten. The literally hundreds and hundreds that had been contained within the six-legged, horned, corpse beside him. The thoughts and memories of those who had made it up, and those it had consumed at a later date. And just like him, it would have had to battle with its 'food' to maintain any semblance of self.

A light, feathery hand brushes against his back, reminding Chopper his is not alone, and with one final sigh he wins. He is himself.

"Are you alright?" Robin softly asks.

"Yeah," Chopper quickly reassures her. "I just feel a little off today."

"Let us know if there's anything else wrong," she tells him, with a gentle sternness.

"I will," he promises. Honestly, he should have told them before. Although usually it is not a challenge by this point. He has done this time and time again before, and by now it often only took a moment to subdue the souls he ingested.

No matter how much he hated it.

It was just the ten of them, because every other Hollow would prey upon them if they were not killed and eaten first.

Because they would have to eat the others regardless, to satiate their own longing.

With a tinge of feelings he could no longer name, much less truly feel, Chopper looked up to see the others finishing up their own meal.

 _Is this all there'll ever be?_

 **—Seas of Souls—**

It was almost by accident they learnt about Las Noches.

Robin, Nami, and Sanji had been sneaking upon on a small band of Hollows, who were doing what appeared to be a regular meeting. None of the ones at the meeting were strong enough to eat the others, so there was an informal truce as they exchanged news, and looked for any weakness in the others.

"—alace of Las Noches!" a crab-like one said. "It's utterly massive, dominating the skyline for leagues and leagues! One day I will reach it and serve the God-King who resides there!"

"Hah!" scoffed another. "I've heard of that place, only the strong live within those regal halls! You'll never make the cut!"

With that insult the détente ended, and a free-for-all broke out.

Nami got the others, and then the ten of them attacked the whole mess.

"Tell me more of Las Noches," Robin whispered to the two survivors, the ones who had talked about the place.

"It—It's the castle of the God-King!" rasped the crab.

"No," whimpered the other one, a snake. He knew it was over, and just wanted it to end quickly. Painlessly. "It used to be an open court for God-King Baraggan, with no walls or roof. Except now someone else's taken over there. Making it their own, and built it into the massive palace that everyone now knows. The most powerful are flocking there."

Seeing there was nothing else, Robin killed them painlessly, crushing their heads and masks with a combination squeezing with her talons and arms.

"What do you think, Senchou?" she asked, turning to their leader.

"Hmm," mused Luffy. "Well, a castle sounds pretty cool, and it's got to be something new and different, so let's go there! It's an adventure!"

A buzz went through them all, as if some weight was lifted, and they ate as fast as they could before heading off. They did not know where Las Noches was, but at least now they had some sort of _purpose_.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

They never imagined it would be one of their own who would nearly kill them all . . .

It had started out like any other day:

"GRRRRAAAARGH!" snarled the oversized bear Adjuchas, swinging his massive clawed, right arm down at them.

Impassive, Jinbe took the blow straight on, being knocked back several meters before stopping himself and unharmed. His tiny hands firmly latched onto their enemy's limb, holding him off balance.

"This guy's stronger than usual!" Usopp screeched, yet still firing hyper-precise Ceros at the bear's left knee, with Chopper following suit. Brook vanished for a moment, reappearing right where they had been shooting, his sharp claws leaving thin cuts against the beast's hide, yet still managing to do further damage.

A Hollow's armour, Hierro, worked best if they were focused after all, and this one was too arrogant in its power to use the discipline it had once had.

Nami added her contribution by firing out electricity to shock their prey, being the final blow bring the Hollow down to his claws and knees; totally vulnerable.

Franky and Robin stayed back, their senses straining for any other arrivals, watching everyone's backs. If worse came to worse, they would also serve as relief.

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji finished it, each striking the bear's white mask, shattering it and the skull underneath.

"Too easy," groused Zoro.

"The other's needed extra training," snapped Sanji. "We fight together, and that's how we stay alive."

"Still, we're definitely becoming stronger," mused Jinbe. "That was one of the strongest we've come across."

Silently, Luffy took a large bite out of the Hollow, deciding that all this talk was unnecessary. Besides, he was hungry. Always.

So hungry he missed himself passing his internal tipping point.

He erupted.

As the spiritual energy entered him, a dam burst as his own power skyrocketed, crushing everyone around him down to the sand, gasping for breath.

Even through his mask, Luffy's eyes widened like dinner plates in terror of what he was doing to his nakama, and ran as fast as he could away from them before his very spiritual pressure killed them.

He had become a Vasto Lorde.

So powerful that his very presence was lethal to others.

For what seemed like an eternity, he was forced to live just a ways from the rest, as he furiously struggled to learn how to control his power. He called up discipline he did not even knew he had, and managed to learn how to focus and contain it. Hide it.

And when he returned, the others mobbed him.

Nami, Chopper, and Usopp tackle-hugged him, and refused to let go. Franky, Sanji, Robin, and Brook each touched an arm and leg, and would not go, reassuring themselves with his presence. Jinbe merely sat down beside them, and Zoro curled up to do the same, yet their eyes never left their Senchou. Drinking in his face and voice.

Knowing it might happen again, Luffy started teaching the others how to also hide and manage their power. Ensuring they did not act as a beacon for all the predators around them. While some of them were better at it than others, this only made them all the more dangerous.

Three more times it happened, if not as extensively.

One by one, Zoro, Sanji, and Jinbe became Vasto Lordes as well.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

The final breaking point was another meal.

Albeit, not in a way they would have ever anticipated.

Sanji was chowing down on a Hollow, while idly repressing all the inherent souls.

Then one in particular stuck in his 'throat.'

The despair of a child who had died and later become a Hollow.

His so-called drunkard 'father' had locked him a basement and left him there until he starved to death.

Pain wracked Sanji as he grabbed at his head.

 _"Father, please let me out!_

 _"Father!_

 _"It's dark and creepy!"_

 _These are_ my _memories!_ he knew.  
Locked in a cell with an iron . . . mask.

With growing horror he latched onto that memory of his, even as it tried to fade away once more –the sheer agony of it etched so deep into his soul that even in death it remained a part of him –and realized how he could not feel his fingers on his face.

Because he was wearing a mask.

Again.

" **AIIIEAARRGGGGH!** " screamed Sanji with all his hate, and ripped off his mask.

The massive burst of spiritual pressure knocked over everyone around him, yet in the next moment it disappeared; almost as if it were swallowed up.

Rushing over, the pack saw that in place of Sanji was a human.

No, he still felt like a Hollow, including a hole through his chest.

Except there was no mask. His face was bare. The only reminder of it was two small horns atop of his head.

Gasping for breath, Sanji felt it all coming back to him. Not the memories, only a few more scraps of it, yet now there were a few happier ones to drown out the cell in the dark.

And emotions.

He could _feel_!

Moreover, he could _control_ the savage ones! He knew it!

With eyes of wonder he looked at the others, and in them they could see the truth of what had happened to him. Words were not even necessary.

As one they reached for their own masks.

Arms and fingers quivered with effort, instincts struggling against doing what felt like self-amputation. Nami and Usopp in particular hesitated for a moment, before committing themselves.

For above all, a Hollow's mask is formed from the hearts they had lost as Humans. It protects the naked instinct which is left in a being after the loss of its heart.

To do this was to gamble _everything_.

Except it could help them become whole once again.

And they were in this together, no matter what.

No matter the cost.

Nine masks broke beneath relentless fingers . . .

As one they fall to their knees as their flesh peels away under rippling, bursting newfound power . . . revealing the humans they once were underneath.

Instinctively they all know they are different somehow from other Hollows who went through this. They do not care.

They _Remembered!_

While Luffy could not recall the particulars of his life before, his sense of identity had returned. "I'm the guy who'll be the most free in the whole world," he grinned.

"I'm to become the greatest swordsman," Zoro grimly declared, reaching for the three sheathed katana on the sand before him.

"I'm a cook, without a kitchen," grumbled Sanji, looking at the empty wastes identical to what they had seen every waking moment.

"And how am I to navigate this?" groused Nami. "And there's not a drop of gold or money anywhere!"

"Well, I guess I'm a warrior here at least," preened Usopp.

"What history is here?" Robin darkly asked. "Where are the books?"

"I don't see no tools, or any water," Franky growled.

Jinbe huffed, and crossed his arms. The desert of Hueco Mundo feeling weirdly alien to him now.

While Brook was humming a tune, it was clear he too was decidedly irritated.

Chopper was running in a circle while yelling how he could not heal anyone without the proper medicine or instruments.

Flexing his fingers, Zoro realized his little nakama's concern might be a genuine problem. He could feel that his High-Speed Regeneration had taken a significant hit, and bet it was the same for the others.

Once more they looked around to take in the endless, boring dunes.

". . . This Las Noches had better be worth it," Usopp declared.

"I've told you, it doesn't matter. It's the journey that's important," rebuked Luffy.

Then they both felt a tingle, wondering if they had had this conversation while alive as well.

Luffy went on. "We'll make the best of it that we can. And now that we're like this, we can have more fun while doing it!"

A shift in the sand from a breeze snaps them back to attention, scanning for potential threats, before focusing on what lay before them. For Zoro was not the only one to receive a new weapon.

One by the one the others picked up the blades in front of them. Intuitively they know what they are, how to wield them safely, and most of all, recognized the power stored within them. _Their_ power.

Luffy's was the weirdest.

A hat.

A straw hat, though they had never seen one before in Hueco Mundo. Yet still they knew what it was.

"We . . ." Luffy softly said, "We're the . . . Straw Hat . . . Pirates." His face hardened with confidence. "Yes, yes we are."

"Right," everyone all chorused instinctively. While their memories remained hazy, this rang through them all as Truth.

Their confidence rising to even greater heights, they stood in a circle so they could bask in each other's presences, and the determination in everyone's eyes.

"Next stop, Las Noches," grinned Luffy.

It was at that point the entirety of Sanji's repressed hormones and perversion broke through all his self-realization to hit him over the head with the fact he was staring right at two gorgeous, _naked_ women!

"AAAAAIIIE~!" he squealed in glee as his nose burst into blood.

"Ah! Sanji! Don't die!"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Hi, a new crossover idea from me that I want to try, as the Straw Hats become Hollows. That said, they are not going to be falling neatly in line for anyone, including Aizen. What does Luffy care about some Soul King? Or being King of the Hollows? Nothing in there about him being the most free.**

 **.**

 **The Straw Hats' Adjuchas forms were inspired by their animal forms on the cover of chapter 651 of the manga.**

 **.**

 **Credit for inspiring me to write this story goes to another crossover, "The Vasto of White," by Parcasious. It was his work that prompted me to do this, especially after reading their most recent chapters.**

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 **I will delve more into their new appearances and abilities next chapter, but frankly it is more productive to go to DeviantArt and check out MasterQwertster's pictures. We worked out their appearances together before he even decided to draw them, and that is how they look in my mind too.**

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 **Next Chapter: "New Friends"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	2. New Friends

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out!

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Odette

Since Brook does not really remember his past life, I was not planning for any Soul King jokes. Do you have any recommendations?

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Really looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your review and awesome support! :-D

.

Creation Teller 

Glad to see you like this story too :-)

The placement in the storyline will be made clear as of chapter 4, but until then I want to keep it as a surprise. Also, I am following the manga, not the anime. While, I may draw elements from the fillers, for the most part I am ignoring them. You are right though, and I do clarify this down below.

Your part about the Arrancar will be addressed below ;-)

I do have some pairing possibilities in mind, but what do you recommend for Brook?

Glad you like the pictures of the Straw Hats, I have let MasterQwertster know :-)

Some Straw Hats will have their original powers, and some will not. Other abilities I feel translate well in regards to using what is available already in the Bleach-verse. You will see what I mean since there is no way life is going to stay peaceful ;-)

No, no, I *enjoy* seeing your reviews! I appreciate seeing how much effort you are putting into my story, and your suggestions!

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! *Really* looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and awesome Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 2: New Friends

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Mountains of corpses.

A testament to death, power, and the bond they share.

Again and again Adjuchas, sometimes dozens at a time, came to this region to pit themselves against the ones who made their home here. Hoping to kill the inhabitants so as to take their strength for their own.

All of them pointlessly dying.

 _Why couldn't they be stronger?_ wondered Coyote Starrk, with an expression dangerously bordering on being empty.

Beside him, Lilynette Gingerbuck shifted a little nervously. Despite her fiery temperament, she was also depressed.

They were both highly unusual for Hollows. Possibly unique.

For one, they were both Arrancar.

They both looked more Human than Hollow.

Starrk's tall and lanky body was wrapped up in only a long rag, wearing it like a cloak. Long locks of greasy, brown hair fell over a face stained by blood and grime.

Despite this, his slumped posture could not hide how his frame was that of a warrior. His muscles were wiry and strong, and his skin was unblemished by any scarring despite the harshness of this desert. His mouth hid surprisingly sharp canines. Most of all, surrounding his neck was his mask fragment: a lower jaw, with sharp teeth.

The person beside him looked like a young girl, although as a Spirit born from a Hollow, it was anyone's guess how old she really was. Regardless, she resembled a pubescent teenager, with green hair reaching shoulder-level like Starrk. Clothed in a large rag too (which he had given to her before covering himself), her mask fragment was a bone-white helmet that covered her head and left eye. On the right of her head a single horn curved up, while there was the stub of another on the other side.

Distantly they heard the sound of someone slowly approaching through the sand. Uncharacteristically, the newcomer was neither making any effort to be discrete, nor trying to blitz attack them.

*Scrunch*

Maybe someone strong?

That was their hope.

For the weak died before them.

Leaving them alone.

What else made them possibly unique?

Once there had been a Vasto Lorde, the highest evolution of Hollow, and possibly the mightiest of their race. And so, he or she despaired.

So immense was their power that no other Hollow could live alongside them without dying.

All they wanted was to escape their oppressive solitude. To fill in the suffocating silence with the sounds of life. To know that people cared for them, and they in turn had people to care about. To no longer be . . . lonely.

In desperation, that being had broken their mask, hoping it would cripple themselves into being weak enough others could safely stay with them. Instead, becoming an Arrancar only raised their might to even greater absurd levels.

So they took a step further that was unfathomable.

They had split their soul.

One had become two.

Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck, with no idea of who the 'original' was, and who was the 'new one.'

Not that they wanted to remember what their lives had been before.

At last they were no longer totally alone, as they had each other. Except now it was the two of them, who were isolated from everyone else.

*Scrunch*

*Crunch*

*Scrunch*

"Ugh, nasty. Why leave this lying about?"

The corpse of a Hollow was flung away into the air.

*Scrunch*

Finally the newcomer came over a dune to face Starrk and Lilynette.

Like them he was dressed in rags, except his only covered his pelvis and thighs, leaving the rest bare. His build was similar to Starrk's, except he was much shorter, and with a large red 'X' over his chest, with his Hollow hole right in the center. Surprisingly, he was an Arrancar too, with his mask fragment being a white horizontal line curved under his left eye, with three smaller vertical lines bisecting it. His skin was tanned despite the endless nights, with messy black hair, and sharp features. Overall he looked like a young man, with some sort of hat on his head.

"Yo!"

Expression empty, Starrk said nothing. Lilynette on the other hand felt a familiar spark rising back within her. "Yo," she managed.

The young man –although like Lilynette, there was no telling his actual age— looked around briefly, before plopping down to sit in front of them. Neither attacking them nor dying.

This was all so different that Starrk's interest was rising.

All Hollow's gained special abilities when 'born,' although as far as Starrk could tell his was simply power.

Pure, unadulterated power.

Raw, overflowing Reiryoku that crushed and killed anyone who got too close. Only Lilynette was exempt, and that was less because of her own reserves and more because of the connection they still shared.

This stranger was relaxed. Acting as if they did not have a care in the world. Not _dying_.

 _Could he stay with us? Be our friend?_

"You seem strong," croaked out Starrk. An invitation.

"You seem weak," the teen cheerfully rejoined.

.

.

.

Stunned beyond words, Starrk could not react, while Lilynette jumped up with tears in her eyes. "We're not weak!" she screamed. "Look around us! All of these people could've been friends but we killed them just by being alive! How is that _weak_!? _We want to be weak_! How could you even _say that_!? "

Sticking a pinky in his ear to clean it out, the newcomer just seemed bored. "Because you can't control your power. That makes you weak."

"We've done everything we can to learn how!" cried Starrk. "Expending as much as we can to lower our reserves, trying to learn how to meditate, focusing our Reiatsu, and more!"

"Those do seem like good ideas," allowed Luffy. "Still, you must've been doing something wrong."

"Well what other ways are there!?" barked Lilynette, only for Starrk to put a placating hand on her shoulder.

" . . . Can you teach us?" Starrk begged with naked desperation. "Teach us to control our power? If you're with us and not dying, then you're strong, and you can control your strength already"

"Sure. When I first became a Vasto Lorde, I nearly killed my nakama. So I had to run away, until I learnt how to be safe around them."

"Nakama?" Lilynette softly asked.

"Oh, like friends who are family. Those people who are a part of you and can't live without." He cocked his head. "I'm Luffy by the way. You can join us if you want, but you've got to find a dream you're willing to fight for."

"Are friends okay to fight for?" Starrk checked, still sitting down in the sand. If he had friends, he would do all he could so as to not lose a single one. His burdensome power would finally be put to a good use.

"Sure!"

"Then yes," Starrk said, rising up tall. "I'm Coyote Starrk, but you can call me Starrk."

"Lilynette Gingerbuck! Call me Lilynette!" cheered the young girl. "As for my dream," she stopped to tap her chin, and then shot Luffy a long look before blushing. Coughing into her fist, she looked away. "Uhm, yeah, keep people I care about safe."

Glancing back, she saw both Luffy and Starrk giving her confused looks, so she quickly said, "How long until you've got Starrk and me up to snuff enough to go see the others?"

"Eh, hopefully not long. Some of them might come by to check in, but they'll know it's all alright since they can tell if I'm fighting or not."

"And if we were fighting?" Starrk asked curiously.

"Then they'd have all come to kill you."

"So they'd all be able to stand up to our Reiatsu long enough to kill us," he grinned at the confirmation. "Good."

"Not good! You'd be dead! And besides, for friends you get as strong as you need to be!"

"Why?" asked a befuddled Starrk. "With my power and yours, surely that'll be enough to keep everyone safe?"

For the first time Luffy looked grim, and restlessly scratched a little at the 'X' on his chest. "There's always strong guys out there who're willing to hurt those precious to you. You can't just assume that you're the strongest. Also, there's a lot of tricky ones out there with weird abilities." Seeing how they still did not get it, he started scratching his head instead as he thought about it, before lighting up with inspiration. "Alright, how about this! Say you've got a fire ability, alright, and you can burn everyone you fight? Well I'm pretty much immune to fire, so it doesn't hurt me. So with that sorta trick, if you hadn't trained up your other skills you'd probably lose, despite being able to beat anybody else. Understand?"

Starrk slowly nodded as he got the point. Lilynette was looking at him with even greater admiration. "Why're you immune to fire though?"

Luffy shrugged. "I don't really remember much of when I was alive, but I do remember that my brother was fire, and he would never hurt me."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

It was hard to measure time in Hueco Mundo, yet eventually Starrk and Lilynette got to meet the rest of the 'Straw Hats.'

They were a motely group.

The first thing Starrk realized was how abnormally normal they all looked.

In a land of monsters, they looked and acted Human. Granted, Starrk had only a fuzzy idea of what Humans were supposed to be like while alive, yet it was still pretty clear to him. Honestly, he should have realized this with just Luffy, if not for the sheer novelty of having someone else to talk to, keeping it from sinking in. It was only when he was confronted with nine more people that he recognized it.

Like him and Lilynette, they were all wearing some sort of clothing. Where the two of them had ragged cloaks though, these people wore pieces of fur, hide, or armour from Hollows.

Also, where Starrk and his other half were covered in grime, these people (except Luffy) were largely clean. In fact, one of them was wringing water out of his massive afro.

 _Water, in the desert?_

The man in question with the afro caught Starrk starring, and stood up to his impressive height. He was a little over nine feet tall, with a skull mask covering most of his face. A cane balanced him as he leaned over in a bow, "Brook at your service~" he said with a musical touch. Some sort of black hide covered his lanky frame.

"Franky!" boomed a large man with blue hair, linking his arms together with fists thrusting into the air. A gear-shaped pattern was around his left eye, with a small drill came out of his forehead.

"Robin," smiled a busty woman. Her Hollow-mask fragment was three, white feather-like protrusions behind each ear. A flower-like tattoo was also on her right cheek. Her outfit was some sort of armour over her breasts, and fur that went from her waist down to her knees.

The only other woman had red hair, with horizontal dollar-signs on her cheeks. Her mask fragment was similar to Robin's except it looked like a pinwheel.

"I'm Nami," she said. "Say, want to trade?"

"Pardon?" Starrk asked.

"Your clothes for mine," she clarified, a greedy gleam in her eyes.

Feeling a little more cautious than usual, Lilynette took a more discrete approach. : _Why does she care about our cloaks?_ : she asked through their mental link.

: _Because she wants to make something better out of them for herself,:_ he simply answered. _:Look at her. She's using some sort of crab armour to hold her breasts in place, and fur like that must be itchy. They're probably all uncomfortable_.:

: . . . _Explains why that guy's only covering his crotch then_.: Which unfortunately Franky was only wearing. Seemed like two pieces of armour on his front and back, tied together barely by some string, thingy. Yeah.

Belatedly they realized that Luffy was staring right into Starrk's face. "Are you guys having some sort of conversation in your minds?"

". . . Yes?"

"Cool!" The other Vasto Lorde spun around to wave his arms at the others. "They can talk in each other's heads! How awesome is that!?"

"Pretty awesome!" agreed one with a long nose, with others chiming in enthusiastically. "How do you do it?"

Feeling her old confidence now, Lilynette puffed out her chest. "We used to be the same being before we split in two."

Of course, given how lonely they had been, usually the preferred to communicate aloud. Silence could be oppressive.

Besides, being in each other's heads pretty much defeated the point of being two separate people, so Starrk and Lilynette preferred to skip using telepathy as much as possible. However this new and unusual situation seemed to warrant it.

"Why'd you do that?" said another one. He looked as young as Lilynette, and was as small as her too, looking her age. He had two, stubby antlers sticking out of his wavy hair, and markings like cherry-blossoms under each eye, and an 'X' on each forearm. Frankly, he was all sorts of adorable. "Oh, I'm Chopper by the way!"

"We were so . . ." Lilynette hesitated at the still-alien thought, yet continued, "weak. Our previous self couldn't control their power, so we killed everyone around us, and lived totally alone."

"I think the original you could control it better than you guys," mused Luffy. "It was just that they still intimidated people too much. They thought you meant to hurt them." _Eat them_ , went unsaid. "You don't get that strong without some idea of what you're doing."

"Geez, Luffy," sighed the one with the nose. "Way to kill the mood." He held up a hand, which Starrk (after some hesitation and a kick from Lilynette) shook in turn. "Name's Usopp," he grinned while jerking his other hand's thumb at himself. His right eye was covered by a Hollow-mask fragment that looked like a goggle lens while also hiding the entire eye. Around his other way was what looked like a target reticle for a scope (no, Starrk was not sure where exactly that knowledge came from to recognize that, only that he had it). "Don't you worry, with a little training, you'll be nearly as strong as me!" His companions rolled their eyes at the boast.

"Sanji," one of the last three said, also coming forward to shake hands, although for Lilynette he kissed the back of her hand too. He had two small, goat-like horns rising out of his blonde hair, and was dressed in black hides like Brook, albeit with a slight yet noticeable amount of extra care to seem formal. "Happy to meet you two."

"Jinbe," rumbled the large man who came over, and gave a slight bow of greeting. In truth, he appeared the most inhuman, and not because of his size. He had curly black hair going down his back, and a topknot on his head. The jawbone of some predator covered his chin, while over his right eye was a tattoo mark that was reminiscent of a sun. Altogether it gave him a fearsome appearance in contrast with his gentle words. "It is good to meet new friends in the desert."

Everyone turned to the last one, who was just lying down in the sand, hands behind his head and apparently napping. At first it appeared like he had no remaining piece of his mask, yet when Starrk took another step for a closer look he saw three white objects like earrings in his left ear. A mark like a scar also went vertically down his left eye, with the kanji for 'sword' right underneath. Strangely he had three swords with him, and now Starrk took note of how several of the others had visible weapons too. Strange.

"That's Zoro," Luffy said with exasperation. He walked over, cupped his hands over his mouth, and hollered, "HEY ZORO! WAKE UP!"

"I'm awake," grumbled the man, yet he did nothing more.

"Then say hello!"

"Hello."

"Not like that! Show some enthusiasm!"

"Hello," he repeated in that same flat voice.

Now Chopper and Usopp joined in, waving their arms and yelling at Zoro to show some manners.

"Don't bother," snorted Sanji. "Mosshead's too braindead to show some basic courtesy."

 _Now_ the man was up and active. "What was that twirly-brow!?" A reference to the unusual curves to Sanji's eyebrows.

"What'd you say!?" Sanji roared back.

In an instant both men were exchanging glare's a hairsbreadth away from each other, only for Nami to lean over and slam both heads together. "Cool off guys."

The rest either laughed or sighed as was their inclination at a scene they had all seen play through time and time again.

Starrk and Lilynette grinned. _They were perfect!_

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

It was a shallow valley within the desert, made up of rock and sands. Walking through there narrowed the movement of the twelve figures making their way through it, making them vulnerable—

"DIE!" roared the lion Adjuchas as it leaped down to attack.

Out from a dune struck a snake with jaws wide to bite before strangling, while a deer appeared at high-speeds behind their prey to box them in.

Starrk raised an eyebrow, and the deer's knees buckled under the sheer presence of his targeted Reiatsu.

The snake was grabbed beneath the head by someone who they had not even sensed there, as Robin stared with chilling curiosity at her catch.

The lion snarled in pain as their forehead was held tight in Jinbe's hand, claws skittering uselessly off his hardened skin.

"NO!" cried a fourth voice. A Vasto Lorde.

Humanoid and covered almost entirely in white armour, their right arm was merged into a large shark-tooth shaped sword. Luffy kicked it aside and punched her away in one smooth twisting leap. Unhurt, their last attacker slid upright back through the sand before regaining traction beneath their feet, cold eyes glaring at them beneath messy blonde hair. From her figure, she was obviously a woman, and only now did it register that the rest of the attackers had feminine voices as well.

"How dare you hit Lady Halibell!" growled the lion despite their pain, and the other two redoubled their efforts.

Cocking his head, Luffy frowned for a moment before saying, "Let 'im go."

His friends did so instantly, although Starrk was more surprised than the others. Instantly the three Adjuchas retreated back, and regrouped behind the flummoxed Vasto Lorde. Then she visibly regained her composure, holding her sword steady, her Reiatsu rising in anticipation for further reprisal.

Without looking back, Luffy resumed walking away from the site of the ambush, and the others followed. Although they made sure to keep an eye on their former attackers. Oh, and to savour the ladies' total and utter confusion.

Nice to see others suffer it for once.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Carefully Tier Halibel reflected on what happened, while her daughters and followers did so aloud behind her.

Very loudly.

"—And what did you say about how many and how strong they were!? You said nine of them, and only three had the Reiryoku to barely threaten us! Well guess what, there were twelve, and they beat us without trying, and one _knocked Lady Halibel away!_ "

"Well I didn't see you saying anything differently!"

"Appachi, Mila Rose, blaming each other is useless," Cyan Sung-Sun predictably said in her condescending tone, while the deer and lion respectively turned to glare at her.

Before they could snap at her, she simply said, "They were hiding their Reiatsu. Obviously."

The other two paused as they thought about it. Frankly it was impressive that three of their supposed prey had been able to do so to the point they had gone undetected. Actually, it was outright terrifying, since Lady Halibel was an expert sensor, detecting even the slightest fluctuation in Reiatsu even in the heat of battle. For their protector and leader to miss something like that was almost blasphemous to them.

Moreover, one of those three who had hidden their Reiatsu so perfectly, had also been the ones to stop Apacci and their mistress . . .

"The guy who stopped me," Emilou Apacci muttered in confusion. "He was too strong. He only used Reiatsu to pin me down."

It took a moment for all three of them to connect the dots.

Another Vasto Lorde.

Halibel was able to hide her presence to an extent, so she would not be a beacon to similar powerhouses, yet this one had taken it to an entirely new level, making himself all but disappear. From there, it was a simple deduction to realize all twelve had been hiding how dangerous they were, if to varying degrees.

"The one who stopped Lady Halibel, an Adjuchas, not matter how strong . . ." she trailed off.

A _second_ enemy Vasto Lorde. One who was less successful at hiding who he was, if still enough to disguise his true nature.

"Why didn't they kill us?" wondered Franceska Mila Rose in utter confusion.

Tellingly, none of the others yelled at her some variant of 'how should we know?' They were all too stunned themselves.

The leader of their group had already considered all this, and was now reflecting on other details. When they had set up their little ambush, she they had seen from afar that their so-called 'prey' had been made up of Arrancar. Halibel had encountered a natural one in the past, and eaten him, so she knew a little about them. So many together was a little surprising, except not enough for her to defer providing her daughters with a rich meal.

(Halibel herself refused to eat her fellow Hollows ever since becoming a Vasto Lorde.)

Replaying her memories however, she realized something they had overlooked at the time.

First was how the man who defeated, Apacci had already been perfectly placed so that he was between her and the one who looked like a young girl.

The redheaded woman had been covered by the blonde man.

While the raven-haired woman had casually captured Sung-Sun, the large blue-haired man had been right beside her.

Finally, the one who had stopped her had been right in front to meet her, with the one with green-hair right behind him, two swords drawn. In fact, the blonde man had been casually close enough to act as support there as well.

The group had known they would be attacked, and had been prepared, if confident of success. Two confirmed Vasto Lordes guarding both the front and rear.

More importantly, they had been protecting each other. Covering them from any surprises. Including the women.

While all Hollows preyed upon each other, due to being born from the worst emotions of Humanity, females were in the minority in this desert. Not because ladies were inherently born, and died, without sin, but because they were the preferred prey of men. Males regularly targeted them in (temporary) packs, and even the stronger ones would take the time to seek out female Hollows –even those too weak to provide any useful nourishment— for sport. Thus women very few women had the opportunity to gain any meaningful strength.

Halibel was the only female Hollow she knew to have banded together with others of her gender. That was simply the sort of life all living Hollows had to accept: you had to kill and eat anyone you might meet, even if they could be a good friend, or risk losing your sense of self forever as you either kill in turn, or you devolved into mindlessness.

She knew of only two exceptions to the rule against forming packs: herself, and Baraggan Louisenbairn, the God-King of Las Noches. Although in his case it was more of an expression of his ego.

Halibel had been powerful, ruthless, and fortunate enough to reach the level of Vasto Lorde. Upon doing so, and gaining enough strength so that she no longer needed to feed as much, she had turned her energies towards helping others like her. To be a protector.

Like this group had done . . .

She did not know how to express the thoughts bubbling inside of her now. The concept there might be others who believed in defending other Hollows, especially women . . .

That there were people within this blood-soaked dessert who might, just possibly, be like her and believe in making this world a better place.

While Halibel did not know the words to express this . . . emotion, she did know one thing: she had to learn more about them.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

Once Halibel finished calming down her followers, her daughters, they went hunting for a different Hollows to eat and replenish themselves with.

Afterwards, they set out to track down the pack which had let them go.

With another burst of speed, she appeared before them, her shark-tooth sword half raised, and the other three right behind her, wary yet not attacking.

Obviously they had been expected, as their 'hosts' were on guard.

They had all stopped for a rest, and were in a loose semi-circle facing the ladies who had followed them. Of particular interest to Halibel were the two likely Vasto Lordes.

At first glance the taller, brown-haired man was unremarkable (aside from being an Arrancar), especially while slouched over, yet Halibel caught the keen attentiveness in his eyes. Like the others, he was strangely clean, despite living in this vicious desert, with locks of wavy hair coming down over his pristine face. Rough, white furs covered his body.

His posture was more interesting however, for while he was slumped over and had no discernable fighting stance, he was subtly in front of the young girl beside him. Despite her small size, cleanliness, and own furs, she clearly had spunk, and she was so focused on glaring at Halibel it was possible she did not even notice how her partner was standing slighting in front of her.

Like before, he was protecting her.

Very unusual.

The other one, the one who had kicked Halibel away, was even more harmless looking, simply sitting with his forearms on his knees. For some reason, he was the only member of his pack who seemed totally at ease. "Hey there," he said with a little smile. "Why'd you come back?"

"Why'd you let us go?" she demanded instead.

He shrugged. "Why not? It's not like we need you for food, and that's why you attacked us. Honestly, we only let you get so far so we could test ourselves a little. You just attacked before Nami, Chopper, and Usopp got their chance at fighting the other three." Suddenly his face became unreadable. "Eh, and when _you_ attacked, you showed how much you cared about them, and they cared about you. We don't see that much here, and I didn't think we should lose any of it."

A part of Halibel wanted to reject his words, condemn him as a lying male only claiming to care for others, except she could not deny his earlier actions. He had let them go. He was surrounded by people he seemed to genuinely look after.

Both groups just stared at each other, and she realized her mind had blanked on what to say next. This was just too unprecedented.

"Want to join us?"

She blinked in shock, before fully registering his words. "I beg your pardon?"

"Your group. You guys seem pretty cool, so d'you want to join us on our adventure?"

Usually Apacci and Mila Rose would be yelling something about how neither they nor their Lady needed anyone else like him, except they were equally surprised. Sung-Sun kept her head a little though. "What is your adventure?" she asked.

"We're travelling to Las Noches! Oh, and I'm Luffy by the way!"

"Las Noches!" the shark woman said in surprise. "Why there?"

"You know it?"

"Yes," she grimaced. "It is ruled by Baraggan. He once tried to make me one of his vassals, existed I refused to submit, and left." Truthfully, "fled" was more accurate. While his fearsome power could not 'age' water, the raw power of the King of Las Noches remained more than enough to overwhelm hers. In addition, he could still influence time so her own attacks became too slow to reach him.

"Well," Robin spoke up, "he's no longer in power there anymore. Someone else rules now." Halibel only gave a light frown in reply.

"Then that is more reason to stay away. Baraggan's power was fearsome. The strength of whoever replaced him must be immense." _Although_ , she privately admitted, _having at least two additional Vasto Lordes present would certainly help_.

"That just makes it more fun," grinned Luffy. "We're going there because there's nothing better to do here."

Feeling now she had made a mistake coming here, Halibel looked at him in contempt. "So you're risking the lives of those beneath you because you're bored?"

"No," and now Luffy became deathly calm. "Because this is no way to live. Constantly eating each other to survive? Even as Arrancar when we don't need to feed upon others, we are still under attack every moment. Maybe at Las Noches it'll be different. If not, then we'll just have to figure out something new from there."

He stared unfazed deep into Halibel's cold, piercing eyes. "Is this the type of life you want for your followers, or do you want something better?"

For a solid minute they traded looks in a battle of wills before she dipped her head once in a shallow nod.

She was in.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Just leave me alone!" screeched Apacci.

"But, but," whimpered Chopper. "You're so pretty!"

With a sigh, Robin walked over and herded a distraught Chopper away, throwing a warning look at Apacci over her shoulder.

Coughing into his fist, Franky stepped up to explain. "It's a problem some of us had to deal with when we took off our masks. All the old feelings, emotions, and even hormones all rushing back to us. Chopper used to be a reindeer Adjuchas, so seeing another deer Adjuchas . . ." he trailed off awkwardly.

Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun (all of whom still had their masks on) did not get it, and just wrote it off as a 'weird male thing.' Except they all knew deep down it had to be more than that.

"You mean he wants a relationship with her," Halibel severely said, coldly glaring at Franky. While Hollows with masks might not have such feelings, she could remember other . . . urges Human men could have, and she suspected that Arrancar regained those.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but my bro's not going to push it if she's not interested."

"Of course I'm not!" bit out Apacci. "This is Hueco Mundo! That sort of nonsense will get you killed!"

The man snorted. "Yeah, and if you believed that, you four wouldn't be working, living, and fighting together." Franky turned serious next. "Honestly though, you won't really get if you don't take your masks off. If you don't want to, we understand, and we'll help you find food."

"Wait," and now Apacci sounded a tad vulnerable, and Mila Rose paced forward.

"You guys really don't have to eat other Hollows? Ever?"

It was Sanji who answered that. "Yes, and no. Like Vasto Lordes, we still need Reishi to survive. The air is saturated with those particles though, so that helps sustain us. Unfortunately, that isn't enough if we exert ourselves through training or fighting. In which case, we live on stuff like this."

He pulled out of his clothing what was a familiar sight in Hueco Mundo: what seemed like withered trees, except were really made of a sort of quartz. Down below the sands, larger versions could be found in the Forest of Menos.

"You eat _that_ stuff!?" scoffed Apachi. "Pffh, you guys are as lame as Mila Rose!"

"What did you say!?" snarled the lion.

"Clever."

The two turned to look at the snake, who was peering intently at the 'tree branch.' "Everything here is made of Reishi, which means that is made up of a concentrated spiritual energy. Not enough to compare to a Hollow, yet if they can sate their hunger with it, and draw in enough from the air itself, then they can get by." Even Lady Halibel had to eat occasionally, even if she limited herself to the worst of the worst Hollows, removing them from Hueco Mundo.

"It's not enough," Sanji admitted. "It's sustaining us, but frankly Chopper and I think we might be missing something more since our biology isn't purely Hollow anymore."

"Not that I've been able to do any proper tests," grumbles the little guy in question, now distracted from his crush on Apacci.

"It's worth it though," Nami spoke up. "Becoming an Arrancar. Not only do you get a massive power boost, you also become in control of yourself once more."

Their new friends all seemed to be considering this.

In unison, Appachi, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun all turned to stare at each other, a look of understanding passing by, followed by one brutal motion as a hoof, paw, and tail each clenched their own masks and ripped them off.

"Girls!" cried Halibel just before being thrown back by three erupting columns of spiritual energy.

"All guys get out of sight!" barked Nami, rustling through one of their improvised sacks for what remained of the ragged cloaks that Starrk and Lilynette used to wear. She and Robin had managed to fashion some short outfits for themselves out of them, giving them both privacy and comfort. Now however there were about to be three freshly naked women in front of them.

Sure enough, as the smoke cleared, there were brand new Arrancar in the world, panting at the indescribable emotional strain they had just endured.

"Girls, why?" demanded Halibel. "You couldn't have known—"

"So you don't have to keep risking yourself for us," rasped Mila Rose, adjusting to her new body. "You're willing to sacrifice everything for us, so we'll do the same for you."

"No sacrifice, no victory," Apacci weakly grinned.

Sung-Sun was trying to figure out what to do now that she had hands and legs, and opted to cover her mouth with one palm. "And we all feel the difference already." She frowned. "I also think there's some sort of connection between the three of us that wasn't there before."

The other two stopped to look inwards and test their instincts, and grimaced as they confirmed it. "Great," they both muttered as one. "What? What's that supposed to mean!? Why're you copying me!?"

Cutting them off, Halibel reached for her own mask, and an instant later a far more massive tower of yellow spiritual energy lit up the desert.

When it was settled, and the clothing was given, Nami called the guys back.

Sanji was the first to arrive, drooling over the sight of the new beauties until Nami gave him a haymaker.

When Chopper waddled up, Apacci found herself blushing red and suddenly finding something else to do elsewhere.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

A little later

"Okay," Luffy beamed as he addressed his newest friends. "Now that that's all out of the way, we've got to show you guys how to fight right!"

"Oh yeah," sneered Apacci. "What could you guys teach us!?"

"Hate to agree with her," nodded Mila Rose. "We were doing fine before." While Sung-Sun did not say anything, neither did she chastise the other two.

"Well," Luffy rubbed his head, "I guess a demonstration is in order. Brook?"

"Yes?"

"Race Halibel."

The woman turned an impassive face towards the thin man in question. "What will that demonstrate?"

"Well, Brook's pretty weak compared to you. He was just an Adjuchas," Luffy said, to which the skull-faced man only lightly hummed. "He's probably still faster than you though."

Apacci and Mila Rose nearly started screaming at Luffy's 'insult,' except Halibel silenced them with a simple nod. She would observe and then assess. At Luffy's instruction, both she and Brook walked several hundred meters away, and then Luffy drew a line in the sand with his foot, raised his hand up, and then dropped it fast.

Brook crossed the line first.

A full second later Halibel was beside him, dimly surprised. In no way should an Adjuchas be able to outclass a Vasto Lorde in _anything_. "How?"

Brook gave a cheery shrug. "Skill. I'll tell you how if you show me your panties."

The Vasto Lorde and her followers were too stupefied to take off his head (they were not even sure what 'panties' _were_ ), leading to someone else intervening.

Sanji dug the heel of his foot into the other man's head. "Be nice to a lady." Then he elaborated more seriously, "Sonido, Pesquisa, Hierro, Cero, Bala, they're all skills we get as an Arrancar. The better you are at them, the better the results. Brook's pretty darn good at Sonido, so he's able to use his Reiryoku properly to get maximum results. Your Reiryoku is far, far greater than his, so you can use it to power your Sonido to still be very fast, even if you're using it less than perfectly."

Franky smirked a large grin. "My Super Hierro's actually tougher than anyone besides Luffy and Jinbe's! And even then, not by much!"

"Well, not that we were really trying in terms of trying to hurt you," deadpanned Usopp.

"Still counts!"

Jinbe took that moment to raise a hand to get Halibel and her daughters' attention, and then silently fired a Bala at Luffy's unguarded back.

Smoothly Luffy stepped around it.

"How'd he do that!?" gasped Apacci.

"Obviously they were already planning that, so he was watching out for it!" snapped Mila Rose.

"With his back still turned?" Sung-Sun critically pointed out, face still impassive.

"Pesquisa," beamed Luffy.

"Luffy's the best at it," Jinbe remarked. "He so sensitive to spiritual particles that he always knows where other spiritual beings are, as well as their attacks."

"So," Zoro spoke up for the first time that session, "in theory, an experienced Adjuchas-class Arrancar who has fully mastered their abilities, could beat a Vasto Lorde who has not. If they've got the will to go that far."

"Very well," Halibel nodded. "It appears we have much to learn."

"Don't worry," Luffy continued to grin, "you'll catch up." He turned to Robin. "Can you spar with those three? It should give us a better idea of what they can do already."

"Yes, Senchou," she demurely said.

Without another word she fired a Bala into Apacci's stomach, used Sonido to appear behind Mila Rose and locked both her arms with only one of her own, and charged a Cero right in front of Sung-Sun's face. "Rule #1: Don't let your guard down."

With those words, she blurred out of sight.

"Wh-where'd she go!?" gasped Apacci as she caught her breath. "What's she thinking attacking us like that!?"

"Training," Robin called out. "Also, this is a good way to find out how good your Regeneration is." All three ladies turned in the direction of her voice, only for Robin to appear behind them, Reiatsu perfectly suppressed.

Surprisingly, while Apacci was too distracted to notice, her minor injuries from that Bala were already healing.

The rest of the Straw Hats turned their attention to their own sparring sessions, deciding to spare the newbies the added humiliation of an audience.

Expecting her own instructor, Halibel was surprised to find Luffy was sitting cross-legged and meditating.

"He's further fine-tuning his Pesquisa, by using it to observe the fight," Nami said, ambling up to Halibel.

"You are not training with the others," observed the blonde.

"Nah," the redhead ruefully admitted. "Not my favourite thing. Besides, not only do I figure you'll settle in better talking to another woman, it's a relief to have another lady to talk to!"

"I'm a lady!" screeched Lilynette.

"No you're not, you're just some kid!" Nami roared back.

"Am not!"

"Then learn to fire a Cero properly!" With that, Nami turned her back on Lilynette, and turned back to Halibel. "Honestly though, we're not sure how fast you guys are going to pick up on this. For Luffy and some of the other guys, it was less learning something new, or how to use their instincts right, but more of re-learning something they already knew but forgot. Like how we all figured out Pesquisa and Hierro in a snap, yet really struggled learning how to suppress Reiatsu, and Ceros and Balas were really a drag for a while. We could use them of course, just not with the same kind of skill as the rest for, like, ages."

"I see," Halibel slowly nodded. "So Lilynette is having similar trouble with Cero, while picking up the rest easily?"

"Uhm," Nami scratched her head, "no. Y'see, she and Starrk joined us a while back, and they're a bit different. They used to be one person, and she's split off from Starrk, with some of his power, if a very little part. Except it's still some from a very, very powerful Vasto Lorde. So she's probably about Adjuchas level, except even she doesn't really know what to do with what she's got. 'Cause she has no idea how to fight."

This broke Halibel's composure. "What!? This is Hueco Mundo, how could she not know how to fight!?"

Nami just pointed at Starrk.

Who was sparring with Zoro.

"Because she had him as a protector. Plus neither of them were their own individuals until after the split, and don't really remember much from before. When they were divided in two, it wasn't done equally. So Starrk got the bulk of their power, fighting instincts, and intelligence. Although I'll deny it if you repeat me, but that doesn't mean she's an idiot. Lilynette's also got the aggression and general will to fight though, so we have to keep motivating Starrk."

Dully, Halibel nodded, even if she was surprisingly thrown off by this revelation.

Although now that the blonde was paying closer attention to the fight between Zoro and Starrk, she realized that yes, Starrk did appear strangely inexperienced.

It was just that his raw talent was so massive.

"Stop trying to fight me with swords!" bellowed Zoro. "That's my specialty, while yours is ranged fighting! We're doing a free-style spar, not improving skills!"

Blinking, Starrk stopped swinging his two katana – _He didn't have those before. Where'd they come from?_ wondered Halibel— and leapt back to make some space.

Despite his advice, Zoro pursued him, not letting the other man have it easy.

 _Yes_ , Halibel observed. _Maybe you'd have been able to match him for a while, but eventually you'd have made a mistake. You're powerful, except that very power means you don't appreciate your strengths and limitations. And they . . ._ She threw another evaluative look around to look at everyone else practicing their moves against each other. _They work to help you find them, and overcome them_.

"Besides," Zoro continued to yell out, "you'd think a guy as lazy as you would prefer just shooting over swinging a blade! Get with it man!"

With a sigh, Starrk shot a single Cero. Except it was charged and fired in the blink of an eye with a large radius, and even packed some serious punch as well. Halibel was genuinely stunned at the display, knowing it would her require her a precious second or two to pull off a feat of equal strength.

"Use your imagination!" Zoro snapped, cutting in half so it sailed past him, and continuing to close the distance. "And don't stop shooting!"

To Halibel's surprise, the apparently supposedly lazy man was starting to look a bit irritated. "Very well then." A Cero over his chest, hands, and feet all fired an instant later, with the center one going straight for Zoro, while the hand ones went above him to bracket him in from dodging. When Zoro cut the center Cero in half like before, the ones from his feet impacted the hands and all three detonated at once, while the above ones meant he could not escape.

"There," Starrk called out to the billowing plume of smoke, back to looking disinterested. "Can we call it a break now?"

Curious, Halibel appeared beside him. "Do you dislike fighting?"

"Pretty much," he said, not bothering to look at her. Both of them could still feel Zoro's Reiatsu still alive and well down below.

Sure enough, the slightly-singed man waded out of the smoke with a bloodthirsty grin on his face. "That's more like it!"

Starrk promptly began firing more Ceros, while Zoro was dodging more now while also cutting through some still. "Yes," he answered her as he multitasked. "I dislike fighting. I only fight to protect myself and the pack. The others feel however that I need to be fully ready to fight if I'm ever really pressed, so they make me go against Zoro. He has no compunction cutting me up a bit if he feels it would motivate me. Also, he seems to feel he's getting stronger fighting me, and he's forbidden from sparring with Sanji anymore."

Halibel digested this, and reached the obvious conclusion. "Zoro and Sanji are Vasto Lordes too?" she asked, hiding her shock.

"Yes," Starrk answered as if discussing the relative merits of one sand dune to the next (what, they did not have weather in Hueco Mundo, just endless desert and occasional windstorms). "As is Jinbe."

Without another word, Halibel descended back to the ground, thanking her lucky stars that the Straw Hats had been merciful when they first met. **_Five_** _Vasto Lordes!? Who knows what they could accomplish!?_

Her eyes hardened in thought.

 _Six now. And I'd better get training._

With that in mind, she sought out Sanji to practice against.

By the end of the day she was also barred from sparring against the man for reasons of 'trying to flood the whole desert while trying to get him to fight back.'

Her daughters were not amused.

Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp found it all hilarious.

So Nami hit them all over the head, which made Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun adopt her as a big sister.

Zoro, Sanji, Jinbe, Robin, Brook, Franky, Starrk, and Lilynette were all happy to see that their new friends would indeed be great new nakama.

For certain, the new ladies would not be boring!

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Following her failed attempt to draw out Sanji's power to force him to retaliate, Halibel sat on a dune in thought.

She had thrown everything she had at Sanji, calling upon her greatest techniques, yet he had escaped them all. At first glance it was infuriating (and remained so), yet despite this Halibel maintained her cool calculation which had made it possible for her to survive Hueco Mundo. The fact that Sanji emerged unscathed from everything she threw at him, as well as the lack of concern his comrades had shown for his health, was a testament to his strength.

Especially since at the same time he had even been calling out advice to her, helping her rapidly achieve greater control over her new abilities.

When Halibel had first joined this larger pack, she had been elated. However she had also done so under the assumption that if worse came to worse and they were betrayed, her strength was sufficient to protect her daughters while they escaped. Now she was having second thoughts as she realized that she may very well be the _weakest_ Vasto Lorde. So for the sake of her girls, she had to learn where she stood.

Steeling her resolve, she went to confront the apparent leader.

Rising over a sand-dune she saw him—

—being repeatedly hit over the head by Nami.

"It's not funny!" Nami was yelling. "Now we have to move on because other Hollows will be trying to figure out who just flooded a good part of the desert! And you!" she jabbed a finger at Halibel. "Think before you do something like that again!"

Calmly Halibel looked back. "Were you an Adjuchas before?"

Surprised, Nami just nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

The absurdity of the question, the very need to ask it, made Halibel hesitate, letting Luffy speak up. "Ah, c'mon Nami! She made part of the desert different and interesting! We should do it more often!"

"No!"

Halibel was about to speak up, when she sensed another presence. Spinning around, she realized Starrk had come up beside her. "Sorry for startling you," he apologized. "And I get where you're coming from, I should've said something earlier. When I first saw it, I didn't realize the power disparity until later." The lazy man gestured at Luffy, who was rubbing his aching head. "Those weaker are not punished by the strong for doing stuff like that."

"That is not the Senchou's way, nor the rest of us," rumbled another voice. Turning, Halibel saw that Jinbe had arrived. Upon reflection, she realized he had always been standing in the background until now, silently assessing her and her daughters. Now she knew he was also a Vasto Lorde . . .

"Why do you follow him?" demanded Halibel. "You are a Vasto Lorde in your own right, and could command others if you desired too. What sets him," she jabbed a finger at Luffy who was picking his nose, "apart from you? Power? And what do you mean by Senchou?"

"I will answer your last question first, as it is the easiest," Jinbe said with calm reserve. "Our earliest memories as Hollows was all of us waking up together as Adjuchas, and yes, we are well aware by now how unlikely that is. We had only the vaguest recollection of our past lives, and that Luffy was our leader, with the title of Senchou, was one of them. Upon removing our masks, we remembered that we used to sail a ship together, and that 'senchou' means 'a ship's captain.'"

While it was definitely puzzling, Halibel still nodded. "Strength is part of the reason he's in charge," Nami pipped up as she came to join them. She shrugged without concern. "Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Jinbe are all monsters."

Everyone else had gathered around now, and it was a nervous Apacci who asked, "What do you mean by monsters?"

"You'll get what she means when you see them fight for real," deadpanned Usopp.

"Yeah," Lilynette agreed. "Starrk's too lazy otherwise."  
"And you're not afraid of that strength?" clarified Mila Rose. She remained confident in Lady Halibel's might, yet she was becoming increasingly wary.

The Straw Hats were frankly rife with Alpha Male personalities. Franky oozed it and testosterone, while Brook had a calm assurance when he was being serious, which made them think of veteran leader, and warrior in his own right.

As for the other Vasto Lordes, Sanji was quick and powerful, while his advances were deeply disconcerting. His seeming polar opposite, Jinbe, was quiet and steady, while moving and speaking with the authority of one used to command.

And Zoro . . . Zoro was dangerous. They had all seen and felt the savagery that he had let loose against Starrk (who had indeed received a few cuts). Except as soon as the spar was complete, the bloodlust was leashed as the man sheathed his blades, and settled down for a nap. Right now he was standing just behind Luffy's shoulder, as a clear display of support.

"No," every member of the non-Vasto Lordes answered Mila Rose.

"What you have to understand," Robin said, "is that for us, above all else, we have learnt to believe in and trust each other, and Luffy most of all." She smiled beatifically. "It's something you have to experience, to truly appreciate."

"So you're always safe around each other?" clarified Sung-Sun, throwing Sanji a significant glance.

"I'd slit my own throat before pushing you too far," the man resolutely said in a voice full of both conviction and horror at the very _suggestion_ he would do otherwise.

"Alright," Halibel said. "I apologize for any offensive given."

Despite her words, she drew her Zanpakuto, noting how Zoro tensed, ready to defend his Senchou if necessary. "That said, I wish to have a measure of your strength. To judge for myself how much of a 'monster' you truly are. Without our Resurreccións, so as to not escalate matters, or draw in other Hollows."

"Alright," Luffy grinned, and she saw a love of battle in his eyes as he clenched his fists at his side. "Show me what you've got."

Without another word, she impaled him. Shockingly, he faded away, even as his voice spoke from behind her. "Speed clone. Try an' keep up."

Whirling around, Halibel brought her blade down against his fists.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

Panting, Halibel impaled her Zanpakuto in the ground to try and use it to heft herself up, yet her knees were too weak. To think . . . that there would be . . . such a difference.

Something entered her field of vision, and she looked up to see Luffy offering her a hand. "Good fight," he grinned. A few scratches and scruff marks were on him, but overall he was unharmed. "Give it some more time, and you'll be even better," he promised.

Halibel measured his eyes and words, and nodded while reaching without reservation to accept her Senchou's hand and friendship.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

For the newly expanded Straw Hats, finding their way to Las Noches was much easier now. After all, Halibel had gone to considerable effort to stay away from Baraggan, which meant in turn that she knew exactly where he was. Using her to help them navigate by the moon and a few landmarks to head in the right direction, they made great progress.

Truthfully, Halibel would not have minded more of a delay, as she and her daughters were still struggling a little to master their new bodies. While the powers of an Arrancar were coming quickly to them, the girls were all having trouble properly suppressing their Reiatsu to the same degree as the rest. Despite this, she was reassured by the knowledge Luffy and the rest were aware of the issue, and assumed they would take it into consideration.

(It was only later to her consternation she learnt that if she had simply _asked_ , they would have stopped a few weeks for more training. Something that may possibly have avoided a few awkward confrontations.)

(Or made them worse; who could say?)

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

"So there it is!" beamed Luffy (he did that a lot when around his friends, or new and exciting things). "Las Noches!"

A massive fortress dominated the skyline. Ridiculously massive even.

"How far away is it?" squinted Zoro with his one good eye.

"Incredibly far. It's just that big," Usopp said authoritatively with his superior eyesight, with Nami dumbly nodding in agreement. The rest trusted their judgment on distance, yet with the target of the journey in sight, they remained elated.

So they set off for the final stretch of reaching Las Noches!

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

What seemed like ages later, they were still heading straight for Las Noches, with nothing to show for it. They were frankly all increasingly frustrated at how they seemed to be making no headway at getting closer, despite how it was _right there in front of them!_

It was just that incredibly large that all sense of scale as to how close it was, got messed up.

"Times like this I wish that we could use some ability to just teleport there," groaned Usopp. "Maybe like making a portal through space we could just walk through."

"Oh stop your bellyaching!" barked Mila Rose. "You don't see us complaining!"

"That's only because you're afraid of Apacci mocking you," sniffed Usopp.

"What'd you say you long-nosed freak! You take that back!"

"He's right though," sneered Apacci.

"We're not alone."

At Luffy's words, everyone cut themselves off, and started concentrating with their Pesquisa. Their leader (and not even Halibel's daughters contested that status, especially once they had seen the scale of power contained within his unassuming frame) was the only one who could unconsciously maintain it with such precision. Once they started looking, they quickly found three Hollows heading their direction at high speeds. No, wait—

"Is that four Hollows?" muttered Nami, eyes squeezed shut.

"No," Sanji said. "It feels like four, but two of them have similar Reiatsu signatures. I think one of them is part of the other, just not like Starrk and Lilynette."

Curious, they all waited. It was always nice to have a new distraction.

Only for them to all frown when they saw a young girl being chased by three others behind her, laughing and cackling.

Furious, Zoro and Halibel leapt at the foremost two attackers. Neither of them deigning to use their full speed as they judged the little girl had enough lead, and frankly the duo preferred to let the more sadistic Hollows have that precious moment to _see_ their own deaths coming.

What happened next was a surprise.

The one with a stag beetle-like mask suddenly blurred with a Sonido and grabbed the little girl and jumped back, even while the large one with a tiki mask pulled out a massive mace from his mouth and swung it at the two Straw Hats. What was really surprising, was how he managed to block Zoro's sword swing. It was an obvious strain, and Zoro had not bothered to use his full strength, yet pulling off even that feat meant tiki-mask was also hiding his power.

"Not bad," grinned Zoro with a bloodthirsty leer. "You've got some impressive strength behind you." His own arm flexed, and the burly figure was knocked back to skid upright across the ground.

"Dondochakka!" screamed the little girl in horror. "Why're you bullies hurtin' 'im!? We never done nothing tah you!"

"Wait," Halibel said with an uplifted eyebrow. "We?"

"Yeah, thethe're my brotherth!"

"Oh? Why were they chasing you?"

"That wath eternal tag!" Then the kid (seriously, she seemed younger than Lilynette, and even less mature somehow) went on to explain how the three of them (and their pet, giant worm) liked to have fun running wildly through the desert.

"Why were you screaming?" Robin asked with a maternal tone, kneeling down in front of the green-haired girl.

"Because Nel's a mathochitht!"

"I see," Robin gently said. "And Nel's your name, yes?"

"Thath right!"

"I see," repeated Robin, gently patting Nel on the head. "Just a moment please." She stood up, walked past Nel, and suddenly the girls 'brothers' were confronted with the dark specters of all the ladies, along with Sanji and Zoro, glaring death at them.

"What're you teaching this kid!?" growled Sanji.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!" screamed the duo in terror.

"Please oh please," whined the purple beetle, with a white mask and loincloth. "I'm Pesche and this," pointing at the one in yellow with black polka dots, "is Dondochakka, and we mean you no harm, oh violent strangers!"

With that little piece of drama over, the rest of the Straw Hats noted further oddities here. The fourth Hollow was a massive snake or worm with horns, and its Reiatsu matched that of Dondochakka. As for the other three, they were all humanoid looking, which was definitely unusual.

"Where did your Zanpakuto go?" Everyone turned to look at Starrk was ambled over, covering his mouth as he yawned. "That was a zanpakto you used against Zoro, despite what it looked like. Which means you're all Arrancar."  
Indeed, Dondochakka's weapon in question had mysteriously disappeared when they were distracted by Nel, with him now furiously looking around as if he had dropped it. "Wha!? Where'd it go! I just found it and now it's gone!"

He was fooling nobody.

Even a single Arrancar in the desert was unusual in itself, never mind three. Not to mention Dondoschakka had already demonstrated some unusual abilities given his apparent connection with the horned snake (which was being oddly passive despites its own notable Reiatsu signature), and actually earning a compliment from Zoro about his strength. Plus, Nel appeared too weak to survive the blood-soaked sands of Hueco Mundo, which meant that either she was really hiding how strong she was, or her 'brothers' were secretly her protectors. _Extremely_ unusual, with the possibility of finding more Hollows like the Straw Hats!

They still considered it insulting, using such pathetic lies.

A scowling Zoro was about to call them out on the duplicity, when someone else spoke up. "Don't worry!" declared Luffy. "We'll help you find your sword!" With that, he started digging through the sands alongside Dondochakka, Pesche, and Nel, with Chopper right behind his senchou.

Alright, maybe some of the Straw Hats were fooled.

The upside of it was that Nel had so much fun with Luffy as they played what evolved into 'Hide and Go Seek,' that the three of them completely forgot what they were originally trying to do.

"Really?" facepalmed Zoro. He threw a stern look at the 'brothers.' "You're looking after her?"

Now serious, the duo nodded once, sensing how that honesty was the best policy.

"Good. Keep it up."

"Very well," Pesche said, a slightly different tone to his voice. "That said, we'll be going our separate ways now, oh violent strangers."

"Fair enough." Zoro and the others were not going to force the siblings to stay.

"Hey Pesche! Dondochakka!" called out Nel.

"That's a stupid name," interrupted Luffy. "I'm calling him Dondo."

"That's not hith name, and Dondochakka ain't thtupid!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it'th not!"

"Yes it is!"

"They're acting as childish as Mila Rose and Apacci," observed Sung-Sun, face still covered by just the palm of her hand, as there was barely enough cloth available to cover her decency.

"What'd you say!?" roared Mila Rose.

"How dare you say I'm like either of 'em!" screeched Apacci.

Nel broke out laughing. "You're right, Luffy! They're fun! It'll be great with you guyth!"

For the briefest moment Pesche and 'Dondo' slumped in resignation, before straightening up and taking on ridiculous poses. "Alright then!" declared Pesche. "The Three Desert Bros will accompany you weaklings on your quest!"

Mila Rose and Apacci almost started another yelling fest, only to realize that neither Zoro nor Halibel were fazed. Behaving as if such words were beneath their notice.

Then Chopper pointed out, "But Nel's a girl. She can't be a brother."

"Whaaaaaaat!?" cried out Dondo as if he only realized that for the first time.

"Where we goin' anywayth?" asked Nel.

"Las Noches!" said Luffy with delight.

"Lath Nocheth?" Nel repeated with both fear and anticipation.

Pesche and Dondo kept themselves still with no reaction . . . unaware that to the sharp-eyed members of the ever-expanding Straw Hats, that lack of reaction was as demonstrative as if they had danced around screaming.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Meeting you and your brothers was a stroke of luck," Luffy smiled at Nel.

"Yeah, Bawabawa'th great tah ride on tah get tah placeth quick," she grinned back, patting the back of the giant worm they were all riding on.

Frankly, everyone was enjoying the chance to just sit back and relax for once.

Especially Zoro and Starrk who were just napping away. Lilynette was distracted having fun with Pesche and Dondo, who she found hilariously high-strung.

Before they knew it (barring a brief altercation with a giant made of sand they handled with minimal effort given some of the powers their group had), they were at the base of the wall of Las Noches.

Now for the next, great step of their adventure!

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **For whatever reason, while most Bleach characters are done surname-given name, for Arrancar, it is given name-surname. Basically switching up East and West. While this does help in terms of differentiating the two sides, personally find it confusing. Especially since for some reason, Starrk, Halibel, and the members of her Fraccion, are always referred to by their surnames, even by those closest to them.**

 **.**

 **So while many One Piece abilities have been lost, others have transferred through. For instance, while the Straw Hats can neither perform haki, nor really remember about it,** **Hierro and Pesquisa are fairly similar enough to Armament and Observation Haki respectively, and they remember enough intuitively to help them hone them to a level beyond the majority of Hollows**

 **.**

 **While Ulquiorra retained the greatest amount of Regeneration, Apacci demonstrated some noteworthy use of it too. Her injuries from Rangiku's Zanpakuto were all gone by the next scene we saw with them.**

 **.**

 **Surprisingly, Dondochakka's strength really is nothing to laugh at. He easily knocked away the same goons of Szayel's that were unfazed by a strike by Renji's bankai.** **Zoro is still stronger of course.**

 **.**

 **To head off any questions about filler arcs from the anime, no I am not planning to use them. There might be a few details I will adapt in, but that is it.**

 **If any of you come up with some pretty good suggestions though, I may change my mind.**

 **Thus this is going to be following the manga all the way to the end.**

 **Where this is in the timeline will be answered next chapter.**

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 **Next Chapter: "Las Noches"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	3. Las Noches

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out!

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Creation Teller

Truthfully, most of these Arrancar that have joined are not exactly 'good.' I would say 'better' than most Hollows given how they were still willing to help Aizen to achieve his goals, and frankly were pretty ruthless at times. While they are paragons compared to most other Hollows —alright 99.9%— they still pretty dangerous and terrifying individuals by contemporary Human standards. Not trying to put you down here, just remind you that just because they are alongside with Luffy does not mean it is going to be sunshine and roses. Still, yeah, not going to go around hurting people unprovoked either.

On a related note there, it would take a LOT for the Seireitei to accept them walking around their streets. Humans with powers are one things, but Hollows have been their enemies since forever. You would have to cut through a LOT of prejudice to get them to listen. Not that I am not going to try of course ;-) Any suggestions?

And yes, the Seireitei has a LOOOOOOOT of issues. Their only saving grace is that the world without them —as far as we know, since frankly they are hardly the most credible of sources— would be worse off, except they use that very necessity of their existence to justify ignoring all their failings and refusal to do better, the full details of which would quite frankly take up more space than other readers would appreciate me writing down for :-P That Kurotsuchi is one of the top officials in their government, and gets off scott-free in the end really is a good example though. That he got so much screentime, and was so successful, when better characters did not . . . X-(

Glad you liked the Apacci and Chopper stuff, although unsure still how far it will go. Mila Rose I have some ideas on her, but had not considered Franky so will give it more thought. I do not see Halibel/Sanji happening though. Even assuming I have her liking guys, I feel that given her past, she would still be strongly put off by Sanji's perverted side. No question, his gentleman side is THE gentleman, the kind of guys ladies knife their husbands for so they can play the grieving-widow-who-needs-consoling around him (or at least so as he would like to think :-P ). In all seriousness though, a Sanji who would settle down for a woman would be an awesome husband, I just feel that Halibel would require 100% faith in her mate/partner/whatever and doubt Sanji would be capable of displaying that early enough in a relationship to convince her. She would need someone that she would be sure she could trust her heart with, more than most women from non-violent pasts.

While an interesting idea for Chopper's form, I admit I am having trouble visualizing all of that together. The Apacci reaction to what I have planned though . . .

Some weapons shown here, but powers will be revealed when they actually get serious.

Gin's ultimate fate is up in the air, but I do have a major plan for him that I feel will be unique ;-) That said, as this chapter will hint, he is going to be having a harder time than canon.

Yes, I had better get Brook an instrument soon or he will take offense ;-)

I confess that no particular anime arc really stands out for me, and I would probably have to alter it if I did want to do it. Is there one in particular that you have ideas for?

The timeline will be clearer with this chapter, but sorry the bird kid is in the afterlife already.

I agree that afro guy, a.k.a. Gantenbainne Mosqueda , the #107 Privaron Espada, is a character that I could really use for my series. You will have to see more below though.

In regards to Charlotte Chuhlhourne, I admit to being very tempted by your reasoning. Indeed, the Straw Hats (minus Sanji X-P ) would probably be the only ones to fully and truly accept him at all. That said, I feel his loyalty to Baraggan is too all-encompasing based on what we saw of his fellow Fraccion. So it would have to take some work to make that sort of scene you suggested happen. I definitely will have to give it some serious thought though!

Hmm, tempting and reasonably believable manner to get the SHP to Soul Society, but unsure if I can fit it into my grander plans. Will have to get back to you.

Whoops! Thanks for that catch about Jinbe's eye!

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! *Really* looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and awesome Support! :-D

.

Guest

It can be tricky indeed handling all these characters, but that is what I have my wonderful Betas for :-)

Glad you are enjoying it, and here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Guest

Glad you liked it so much :-) Although with your comment about them being 'somewhat in character,' were there any parts in particular where they were out of character?

Glad you are enjoying it, and here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

K

Yeah, it does make sense to use language to differentiate them. Same with the Quincy.

Glad you are enjoying it, and here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 3: Las Noches

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 _Previously:_

 _The growing band of Straw Hat Pirates finally arrived at the base of Las Noches, to which they have been travelling to for so long. They hope that here they can find a new purpose in life beyond the endless sands of Hueco Mundo._

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"Well, here we are," Halibel softly said, staring up once more at the enormous heights the new walls of Las Noches reached to. The sheer scale of it all was staggering, and impossible for her to express. She could not even begin to grasp where the resources for it alone must have come from. _Much less the labour. How many Hollows live within here?_

"Yes, we finally made!" boasted Usopp, before placing his hand to his forehead, and started to look around as he obviously searched for something. "Except there's still no sign of a door," he groused.

"Oh," perked up Nel, "Why didya not thay tho? The entranthe is four dayth away thata way!" she pointed with one finger.

"Days?" Robin translated with a quiet intensity. "You can tell time here?"

Jinbe, Sanji, Nami, Brook, Franky, Chopper, Usopp, Starrk, Halibel, and Sung-Sun all looked in curiosity at that revelation. For them, every night seemed the same under the light of the moon.

"Well, thure," Nel said a little nervously. "Can't you?"

For a beat, the Straw Hats all stared at her, before turning their full attention upon the visibly quailing Pesche and 'Dondo.'

"Eh, doesn't matter."

Everyone turned to Luffy at his words, just in time to seem him winding up a punch.

"Wait! Don—!"

With a mighty **_BOOM!_** smoke and debris flew away from his fist, carving a large hole into the side of the fortress.

Halibel gave him a tired look.

Lilynette laughed loudly, while Robin giggled.

Apacci and Mila-Rose (missing their Lady's expression) eagerly joined in with their own fists.

Zoro just stood aside with his arms crossed, as his swords were for cutting, and it was beneath him to use his own hands for something as menial like this. Moreover, while he was very skilled with most of the Arrancar abilities, his Ceros and Balas were among the weakest due to lack of training. Not that he was lacking in alternatives . . .

Starrk quickly noted that despite the ongoing efforts, the hole was already several meters deep, with no sign of breaking through. Figuring this would take a while, so he laid down for a nap.

Lilynette promptly berated him for not helping; yelling how he could have blasted his way through already.

Usopp, Brook, Franky, and Chopper just bowed their heads and shook them in dismay.

With a sigh, Sanji and Jinbe went to assist, especially as Nami was busy furiously strangling their Senchou. "We came here to see what it was like, not invade!" she screeched.

"It's fine, it's fine!" babbled Luffy, unfazed by the attempt to cut off his air. "If they get all bent out of shape about it, we'll just point out that now they have a new door so others don't have to spend days walking around!'

Nel and her brothers were shivering in horror. Finally the little girl yelled, "Don'tcha know that'll anger Lord Aizen!? He'll send hith Ethpada after you!"

Now everyone including Luffy was looking at her. "The who what now?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

The Arrancar of Aizen Sosuke, the ruler of Hueco Mundo, were in attendance.

At the edges of the vast crowd were the rank and file, those who had not even been Hollows of the Menos Grande-class before their transformation.

Closer, scattered about in a large semi-circle, were the Numeros; the hundred fighters whose power and loyalty had earned them the honoured status of being officially accepted within Aizen's army. Originally they had been Gillian or Adjuchas-class Menos Grande. Each of them had a number branded upon their flesh somewhere to designate them. While there were hundreds more, they were all weaker Gillians, or even those who were not Menos Grande.

Nearest to the center though were the Espada. The ten strongest of all the Arrancar. The ranking system was set in place by Lord Aizen, and given how he had already perfectly memorized all their attributes, the method used was intended more to confuse outsiders. The Numeros #11-99 were given numbers based upon how early they had joined, with the most recent being the lowest numbers. While it gave a sense of pride to his followers, it was useless for revealing anything about how they compared to the Espada. For those elite, whose pride was greater, and thus the need for precision, were designated so that the lower the digit, the greater their Lord valued their power.

These generals, #0-10, were scattered about in no particular order, while maintaining a careful distance from each other, as there was no love lost between them. These relationships ranged from utter indifference to if the others died, to wanting to be the ones to kill them if they had Lord Aizen's permission.

The Cero Espada: Yammy Llargo (he was also the Diez Espada if he had not Released his true power, meaning that as he was now, he was actually the weakest of the Espada, instead of the strongest.)

The Primera Espada: Baraggan Louisenbairn.

The Segunda Espada: Ulquiorra Cifer.

The Tres Espada: Nnoitra Gilga.

The Cuatro Espada: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

The Quinto Espada: Luppi Antenor.

The Sexta Espada: Zommari Rureaux.

The Septima Espada: Szayelaporro Granz.

The Octava Espada: Aaroniero Arruruerie.

The Noveno Espada: Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio.

Lord Aizen, the man who had personally recruited each of them, had assured them that they were each stronger than the Taichou of the Seireitei. Which was understandable as with the exception of Aaroniero, the rest were made of up the strongest of Adjuchas, or even Vasto Lordes!

All of them were gathered before the most massive Hollow of them all: Hooler. Hundreds of meters tall, its other most distinctive feature besides the lack of a Hollow mask or mask fragment, was its single, huge eye. Before it were twelve, regular Gillians, the dim-witted beings staying put under the authority of their betters.

They were all awaiting the arrival of their Master.

For this was the designated day of when he would break all ties with the Seireitei, coming to Hueco Mundo to rule full-time, as well as declaring war to destroy the Shinigami once and for all.

The honour of being part of that annihilation alone was enough reason for the majority of Hollows to bend their knee to one who was a Shinigami in turn. As were his top two lieutenants.

Of course there was at least one exception to this.

Baraggan Louisenbairn.

Formerly the God-King of Las Noches.

Now taking upon the appearance of a scarred, old —if still-muscular— man, he openly glared with impatience at where the Gillians swayed in place.

Others had thrown themselves at Aizen's feet in adoration, yet he had been forcefully conscripted, helpless before the illusions of Aizen's zanpakuto: Kyoka Suigetsu. While his own power was still terrifying, it was useless if he could not even see the man, nor even tell if what he thought was reality was true or not. If he attacked Aizen, he could never know if he had actually killed his enslaver, without inevitably having to lower his guard, making him fatally vulnerable if he had failed and his hated foe was merely patiently waiting.

So he watched and waited in turn.

With varying patience.

 _He's already kept us standing here for hours! Bah, and no doubt he'll continue to do so for the rest of the day, until he deigns to make his grand entrance. Driving home his authority over us! Of course, some of these ants love it._

"Lord Baraggan."

Turning his head so his left eye could see the speaker (the other was scarred shut), he grunted, "What?"

Each Espada was permitted to choose a series of followers, Fraccion, who served as their personal soldiers, bodyguards, or servants. While Aizen and his Shinigami lackies had killed many of Baraggan's personal army, the best of them had been spared, and he had chosen his Fraccion from the strongest survivors. Ggio Vega, who was kneeling before him, was first and foremost of them.

"There's been a disturbance," he reported.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Whelp, that's that," Luffy declared, his face twisted up in disgust. "Let's go."

Everyone stared in disbelief as he started heading right back into the endless desert of Hueco Mundo.

"WHAT!?" cried Lilynette. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

"You heard her!" snapped Luffy, jabbing his index finger at Nel. "The people here _bow_ to one ruler! So we already know this place sucks! Bug Guy and Dondo confirmed it!"

(Pesche and 'Dondo' were too relieved to take issue with their nicknames.)

"Is, is he serious?" Mila-Rose asked Zoro.

He shrugged. "We don't lower ourselves to no one. So if we go in there, they'll try and make us. After we beat them, then everyone'll be trying to kneel to us. So why bother?" Then he barred his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin, "Of course if they do come after us, that works as well. "Least we'll get some fun!"

Halibel felt her usually absolute self-control faltering as she furrowed her brow at her leader. _I risked the lives of my daughters coming here, and you—!_

"Oi! Luffy!" Hearing that tone, Luffy stopped to look back at Sanji, who was facing Las Noches with his eyes closed, concentrating on his Pesquisa. "I think you're being a little hasty. Feel that?"

"Indeed," mused Jinbe, doing the same. "A possibly unique opportunity is before us."

The rest of the Vasto Lordes followed suite, along with Robin, Franky, Brook, and Usopp.

"Huh," Luffy said, pulling at his lip. "They're all concentrated in one place. Pretty far away too. A mystery!"

"The strongest are, yes," agreed Jinbe. "If we were to go inside to see if there was anything worthwhile here, now would most likely be the best time."

"There's only some weaklings scattered around nearby," noted Zoro with disappointment. He cocked his head. "I feel a breeze from the hole in the wall, so that means we've already broken through anyways."

"Given how those few guards are now coming towards us," Starrk added, "that means they know we're here."

"Baraggan is among those in the center," Halibel said, her composure restored. "That is concerning. For untold ages he has been the strongest of Vasto Lordes by a vast margin. Whoever this Shinigami Aizen is, his own might must be terrifying. Especially if he would risk leaving Baraggan alive."

"Luffy, the decision is yours," Robin spoke up. "Yet it may be best to confirm what Nel and the others have to say.

They waited for Luffy to make up his mind, before with a shrug he led the way into Las Noches. "Let's see what they have. Maybe we can even find something worthwhile."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Intruders, eh?" Baraggan said with mild surprise, reaching out with his Pesquisa. The Reiryoku of one of them almost seemed familiar, meaning it would have had to been an ant that caught his interest at some point.

"Tch, what a pain," groused Grimmjow. "We can't leave to deal with them, because we have to wait here for Lord Aizen."

"The majority of our forces are present here, and unable to mobilize," agreed Zommari. Only he and Dordoni appeared genuinely concerned about damage to the palace. Or at least that Lord Aizen might be upset by it.

"They're going to be slaughtered," leered Nnoitra. After all, only the dregs were absent; those deemed too weak to be worthy of their Lord's presence. Even the Privaron Espada like Cirucci Sanderwicci and Gantenbainne Mosqueda were brought along, so as to bask in Lord Aizen's arrival. Moreover, their Master deserved to see the assembled might of his army, an honour bestowed upon only the strongest.

"Dispatch Calaveras to reinforce," Ulquiorra tonelessly ordered.

Rudbornn Chelute, the 61st Arrancar, was the leader and only true member of the Exequias, the Execution Division. His special ability was to generate expendable soldiers, the Calaveras, as extensions of himself. They were not the strongest, but in sufficient numbers they could be daunting.

"Tch, you're making a fuss about nothing," sneered Luppi. "The intruders are all weaklings! They don't even feel like Arrancar!"

"Hmm," mused Szayelaporro, adjusting his 'glasses' (really his Hollow mask fragment). "No, they're not. Three of them would do well as Fraccions, and the rest are likely hiding their power. Why else would they be so bold as to invade Las Noches?" Moreover, he actually recognized two of them, and was looking forward to a little 'reunion.' Why, he may even invite Nnorita along for the fun.

. . . Nah!

 _Still, what could have prompted Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne to return to where they and their mistress were crippled?_

Privately, Baraggan agreed. For an ant to catch his notice enough to be remembered by him, without being a former part of his army, then they must be a Vasto Lorde who managed to escape him. An impressive feat in itself.

"What about rearranging the corridors so that they keep running around until Lord Aizen gets here?" asked Yammy, with his typical idiocy. Given how much he had been scrunching up his forehead, it seemed he had only now managed to concentrate his Pesquisa enough to get a solid read on the weaklings breaking in.

"Because," said Ulquiorra, who was basically the larger being's caretaker, "only Lord Aizen, Ichimaru, or Tosen, have permission to do so. Moreover, from what strength they possess, they could just knock through walls to get where they want."

". . . So we're stuck here?"

"Yes."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

It was pitch-black in the tunnel, so Luffy lit up a Cero over his knuckles without discharging it. An incredible display of control that also served as a subtle reminder of why he was the Senchou.

Although only Nel's brothers thought it was intentional intimidation. The child herself was too awestruck, having taken to riding on Zoro's shoulder because he was 'cool'!

"Why don't you get on Luffy then?" he grumbled.

"Becauthe he'th ta thmall an' thin!" asserted the fem-Napoleon.

"Why're you guys even following us if you're so scared of Aizen!?"

"Because he'll kill uth for helpin' you, tho we've got tah thtay with you!"

"You do know he's probably going to come after us, right? So that makes no sense."

" _You_ make no thense!"

"Oi! Mosshead! Don't yell at a lady!"

"She's a midget! Agh! You bit me!"

"That'th mean! I'ma cry!" So she did, long and loud right in Zoro's ear while throwing out increasingly original insults.

"They'll fit right in," Halibel deadpanned to Robin, who smiled in turn.

"Friends are what make life worth living, and the more exciting the better."

Eventually they entered a corridor heading both left and right. To their surprise, torches lit up along the walls at their presence.

Harmlessly dissipating the Cero, Luffy looked both ways in careful thought. After a few seconds, he gave a decisive nod, and brought his foot up to kick right through the wall in front of him. "Much better!" he beamed at the newly opened path.

To their confusion, it revealed a large room, while in the middle was a series of pillars of varying height, with even the lowest being dozens of meters tall.

"What's the point of this?" asked Franky in confusion. "Those columns don't hold up the ceiling, so why're they all scattered around like that? And why put the roof so high?" The builder in him cringed at the pointlessness, and poor aesthetic.

While they all had vague memories of previous lives as Humans, even those had been of much smaller places. As Hollows all they had known was the open night sky, and desert sands. The way this place was built was unnerving to them, and thus putting them a little on edge.

"Could be to help the fighting style of whoever lives here," proposed Zoro. "We Hollows have a large variety of abilities after all."

"Or because it looks cool to them," supplied Usopp, scratching his chin.

"It's a demonstration of power," Halibel firmly said, with Jinbe nodding along. "Whoever built this place, was able and willing to waste the time and resources to make this over-sized room. All as a message."

Cocking his head, Luffy squinted, and declared, "I don't get it."

"I know!" Pesche suddenly declared, surprising everyone with his sudden confidence while standing heroically with his index finger pointing to the ceiling. "It's because whoever's in charge of this place needs to compensate for something!" He gave a series of long, slow blinks with his one eye, which took everyone a moment to realize were supposed to be 'winks.' "Y'know . . ."

"I don't get that either," said Luffy, with Nel and Lilynette looking equally confused. Dondo gasped in shock at his friend's daring, while the rest were looking at him with pained looks at what they _hoped_ was merely a terrible, terrible joke. If he was right . . .

Pesche defiantly maintained his dramatic pose until everyone looked away, at which point he returned to shivering and cowering, at how they were breaking into Las Noches.

"Hey!" piped up Nel. "There'th a doorway there!"

"Good eyes Nel!" grinned Luffy. "C'mon everybody!"

He, Chopper, Nel, and Lilynette raced off, with the more mature members hurrying on after them. Pesche and Dondo would not stop shaking with fear though, calling for Nel to slow down so she did not get lost on them.

"It's weird," Zoro suddenly said, catching even Luffy's attention. "The guys who live here, they've got to sense that we're inside, or close enough, but they're still not doing anything."

"Must be orders from up above," proposed Sanji. "They were told to gather up, so that's what they're doing."

In a rare moment of agreement, Zoro nodded. "Seems like it. Idiots. You should let people be free to do the job they're good at."

"I know. Clearly they need to take a few lessons from our own idiot leader."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

After following the twisting corridor, they came out into a very tall, very wide hallway, which lead to a staircase that rose up to at least a hundred meters.

"Whoever designed and built this place, clearly had too much time on their hands," grumbled Nami.

"Or perhaps they wanted to keep their servants busy," Robin wondered aloud. "Whoever is in charge here, has an incredible army of Hollows. Making them construct this would keep them occupied, while driving home that they are to obey him."

"Wait, wait, wait," said a pained Starrk, holding his palms up. "Whoever this guy is, he made the people here _build_ this this ridiculously big place?" Clearly he took offense to the idea of working like that.

"Ugh! Don't be so lazy Starrk!" yelled Lilynette.

"Incoming!" warned Sanji.

Down from the staircase came three giant, lumbering figures. Clumsily they fell off the staircase, but hauled themselves back up. They were dressed in white clothes, and while tall also seemed misshapen. Their masks were clumsily broken.

"Are those supposed to be Arrancar?" asked a confused Chopper.

"Perhaps failed ones," whispered Brook.

"GRAAAAH! Die in the name of Lord Aizen! Die intruders! Die! Die!"

Two of them brought their over-sized fists down on Luffy who just gave them a blank look—

—only for Starrk and Halibel to block them barehanded.

Flexing her fingers, Apacci put her fist right through the skull of the one attacking her Lady. Mila Rose cut down the one straining impotently against Starrk with her sword, while Franky just punched the last one so he went flying halfway through a wall.

Acting as if nothing had happened, Luffy kept walking.

"Whoa," murmured Nel, a little unnerved. While violence was the way of life for Hollows, she had not realized how strong her new friends were.

"It's okay, they attacked us," reassured Lilynette.

Nami however stopped to look more closely at the corpses. "Hey! Guys! These are clothes!"

The Straw Hats turned to re-examine their defeated enemies more closely, and realized that yes, those goons were wearing honest-to-goodness pants and shirts!

"Well now," grinned Robin. "Now we have a better idea of what we should be looking for." Everyone was tired of wearing rags, or pieces of Hollow hides or armour.

They stopped to search any rooms they came across, and there were many, except most of them were empty for whatever reason.

After a while, including just breaking through walls whenever it looked like the path was just going to lead them back to wherever they started from, they reached something totally new.

Before them were many massive buildings, scattered across familiar sand. Clearly (hopefully) this was the main part of the palace. What they also saw—

"Wh-what is this!?" gasped Nami. It looked familiar, and yet . . .

"I, I think it's the sky!" gulped Usopp.

"What do you mean, the sky?" asked a confused Lilynette. "Where's the moon?"

Above them, they saw instead of a white ceiling like they expected of the massive dome atop of Las Noches, or even the familiar night sky, was a weird blue light. With white, fluffy things drifting across.

"Why's it so bright?" squinted Apacci against the glare.

Nel appeared almost enraptured by it, while her brothers were just cowering as usual. Everyone else was very impressed though.

Except Luffy.

He was now staring off at something in the distance, frowning in confusion. "Hey, there's something thataway I wanna check out."

"Are you crazy!?" cried Usopp, following the direction of his Senchou's pointing finger. "That's too close where all those super-strong guys are!"

"Don't worry about it!" grinned Luffy. "I'll be quiet, and they can't detect me anyways!"

It was true, like Starrk, to keep himself from hurting his nakama or drawing in would-be predators, Luffy had learned to suppress his Reiatsu and hide his Reiryoku to the point he was undetectable to all but the most skilled with Pesquisa. If they knew they were supposed to be looking for him. Only Nami and Robin were better.

However, that said . . .

"You wouldn't know quiet if it bit you on the nose," deadpanned Nami with a frown. "You suck at being sneaky."

"Yosh!" Luffy smacked a fist into his hand. "You're right!" So with that he wrapped one arm around her waist, "So you can help me!" he cheekily grinned. Before she could get out her horrified protest, they were gone in a blink.

"Uhm," now Pesche seemed too stunned to be afraid. "That's not going to go well, is it?"

"Nami will do her best to keep them out of trouble," sighed Jinbe. "In the meantime, what are we to do?"

"Keep searching and hope trouble comes our way?" offered a grinning Zoro.

"This is supposed to be a quiet raid!" screeched Usopp, smacking his friend over the head.

"So where do we start then?" Sung-Sun softly said, hoping to keep the discussion productive.

They took another look around at all the immense, individual building scattered across the sands miniature desert within the palace, trying to make sense of it all.

"What about over there?"

They all turned to see Pesche, looking comically curious and serious as he pointed off at one particular building. It was a green, oval shaped dome, with a bunch of strange bumps covering it. "That place looks fun!"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Pesche Guatiche was enjoying one of his moments of complete lucidity. Which was a miracle in two significant ways:

1) Being back where he and his sanity had been violated could easily have caused him to regress farther.

2) That he even had any sanity left in the first place was astounding in itself.

A Hollow's mask is formed from the hearts they had lost as Humans. It protects the naked instinct which is left in a being after the loss of its heart. To remove most of it to become an Arrancar was to gamble _everything_. Except in the end you were still left with a fragment of that mask.

To remove it further? Unthinkable.

To _break or tear off someone else's?_ A crime beyond words. A taboo that none but the most depraved of Hollows —a species literally made up of heartless, cannibalistic monsters created by the worst of Human impulses— would even consider.

Yet Nnoitra Gilga and Szayelaporro had done just that.

For Nel, or Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, as she had once been known, the proud warrior had regressed into a helpless child with amnesia.

With the last of their will, Pesche and Dondochakka had latched onto their beloved mistress as their new purpose in life. They would keep her safe. They would keep her happy. They would let her forget her blood-soaked life as the Tres Espada.

So the three of them and Bawabawa, one of the combat spirits Dondochakka keeps in his stomach, had run and played across the sands of Hueco Mundo. Him and his partner exaggerating their sense of humour that had first drawn Lady Nelliel's interest to them over all others.

Except now they were back in Las Noches.

Pesche and the newly re-named 'Dondo' continued to cower and squirm with terror that was only partially an act. Meanwhile, behind their fake masks they desperately tried to think of what to do.

Their biggest handicap though, was not simply their ignorance regarding the intentions of these newcomers, but also how to prevent triggering Lady Nelliel's memories while in Las Noches.

So they continued to act like cowardly, idiotic, easily overlooked goofballs that they had acted as for so long, until it became more and more who they really were . . .

. . . While the warriors who had once earned the attention and respect of one of the most feared yet impossibly peaceful Hollows of Hueco Mundo, began to stir.

Began to remember how truly dangerous they were.

Now that they were able to see the main part of palace, with all the individual buildings, Pesche was finally able to get his bearings. Briefly he assessed the risks of what he was planning against the observed power of those who he was with, and how likely they were to take any frustration out on him.

 _Nel likes them . . ._

"That place looks fun!" he dramatically cried while indicating a certain building.

Home of Szayelaporro Granz.

 _Let's see how much of your research we can wreck_ , he thought while carefully suppressing any violent intent. He could not let Nel catch any of it. _More importantly, there should be more than enough in there to satisfy the Straw Hats, and decide to leave while the going's good. That'll get us out of here sooner than randomly trying out other places until they find something they like._

Briefly he thought Zoro may have reacted, but then the man was impassive again.

"There's others closer," argued Usopp. "Besides, we don't know how long it'll be before actual guards come at us."

"And they're all the same dull colour, and that means they're all dull inside of course, don'tcha know?" threw back Dondochakka.

"They've got a point," Franky said. "Not like we've got any other ideas."

"Yeah, why not?" grinned Zoro, and now Pesche definitely saw how that caught the attention of the Vasto Lordes, Sung-Sun, Franky, Robin, and Brook. _I need to ham it up some more_ , he knew.

No one else had anything to say, so they started making their way there. "We should still keep an eye out for clothes and other supplies on the way," reminded Brook.

Choosing to speed things along, they all used Sonido. The faster and stronger ones helped carry the rest, and only traveled at a middling speed so as to not reveal what they were capable of.

Meanwhile, Pesche and Dondochakka did all they could to keep Nel's attention on themselves and their hijinks.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Halibel took the lead breaking down the green walls to go in, with Zoro right beside her, hand resting on his zanpakuto. Quietly she questioned him, "Why are you suddenly in favour of going here?"

"Those two numbskulls aren't who they claim to be," Zoro said in his normal voice. "They've got some grudge against whoever lives here, so I figure why not give it to 'em?"

She huffed at that, while continuing to make sure the path was clear.

Panels in the walls suddenly opened up, and a horde of mindless Arrancar swarmed at the Straw Hats.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"My palace!" gasped Szayelaporro in horror. "My lab!"

The rest of the Espada were either unfazed, or outright amused by this sudden shift for the mad scientist.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"You guys really don't like using your Zanpakuto, do you?" Mila Rose questioned, hefting her own broadsword. She gestured towards one Vasto Lorde in particular who had an over-sized katana resting on his broad back.

With a light grunt, Jinbe merely thrust his palm through the head of another of the mooks. Only then did he answer her question. "This is what feels natural for me. My blade is a part of me, yet not the part that fights."

"Yeah," Franky nodded, massive fist smashing someone else into a wall. "Besides, have you seen my Zanpakuto? Not really SUPER for cutting people with."

He jerked a thumb at his back, where a large hand saw was strapped. Indeed, it seemed better suited for cutting wood than people.

"Well," Sanji said, twirling over towards Mila Rose while incidentally also kicking away a few more with the same gesture, "My own talents are not nearly on par with your own, your skill with your sword being as beautiful as yourself. Besides," now he became more subdued, if still utterly serious, and drew his own Zanpakuto. "I will not sully this with the blood of my enemies."

Perfectly balanced in his hand was a long, sharp cooking knife.

Mila Rose still frowned a little, feeling it was strange to not use a weapon that was literally a part of you.

"Just let it go," Zoro said, looking almost bored as he hewed through several at once. "People should fight as they are comfortable."

"Don't boss around a lady, Mosshead!"

"What was that!?"

"Ugh, will you guys just stop it already!" groaned Apacci.

"Butt out Apacci!" snapped Mila Rose.

"What! Whaddya say to me!?"

Jinbe groaned, as the bickering only intensified.

"The guyth from behind're here!" cried out Nel at the top of her voice.

In a swarm of white, the Calaveras had arrived. Dressed in white with skulls for heads and katanas in hand, they rushed at the intruders.

Unfortunately for them, they had been expected.

Sung-Sun danced around them with her twin sai, graceful and deadly as she spun around their every strike, while her own kept stabbing true through their eye sockets.

Starrk had created a sword of his own, and was cutting down the Calaveras with ease, while keeping a close eye on Lilynette. She was dueling against a single one who had gotten a little separated from the rest. While at this rate it remained an even fight, he was ready to intervene if necessary. Alas, killing all of the skull-guys with a Cero might start to cue in the 'Ethpada.' He could sense the waves of their own Pesquisa observing them after all.

"Dibs!" With that gleeful shout, Zoro leaped over the heads of his allies and into the fray, Mila Rose and Brook right behind them. Those three above all seemed to prefer fighting with their blades after all.

Brook's sword-cane was drawn, weaving a pattern of death.

Mila Rose's broadsword cleaved through her prey, yet Starrk noticed she seemed to be trying to develop her skills as opposed to relying solely upon brute force.

Zoro . . .

Was playing with his food.

With only a single one of his Zanpakuto in hand, he carved a path of death through his foes. Each strike cutting down three at a time, using maximum precision and force at once as he went through swords and bodies while they kept hitting air as they tried to reach him. If he had drawn all three blades it would already be over.

Within another minute it was all over (Lilynette even managed to kill her guy!), and Franky called out to say they had found the mother-load.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"So you can just log onto the computer?" Robin dubiously clarified.

"Yep!" grinned Franky with a massive smile. His fingers were too massive to punch the individual keys on the keyboard, so he was holding two broken swords from the wave of defeated white attackers, and tapping the duller broken ends of them down to do the job. It had only taken him a few tries (with minimal cutting of the keys themselves), and now he was soaring through file after file.

"Well, that's pretty arrogant," deadpanned Usopp. "And convenient."

"Indeed," nodded Brook.

"You won't make the same mistake, will you Franky?" Robin smiled.

(It was genuine amusement because she knew her friend was smarter than that, not a subtle threat.)

"Hah! Y'know it! I'm too SUPER to make an idiotic mistake like that!"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Only his overwhelming fear of Lord Aizen kept Szayelaporro from deserting his post and running off to preserve his research.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"So let me get this straight," Jinbe said, stroking his beard as they looked up at the various monitors. "You have an inventory of everything that's within this building, and all the rest, including descriptions of them all?"

"Yep!" grinned Franky like a shark.

The rest of the Straw Hats matched it, even Starrk.

(Which was frankly a bit weird, since two of them were technically from sharks.)

"Well then," Robin said, lightly clapping her hands together. "Let's go shopping!"

"One moment," Halibel cut in. "As fun as that sounds, we have to plan out what we do next. With Luffy's approval," she quickly added.

"She's right," Jinbe reservedly nodded. "This Lord Aizen may very well want to avenge his wounded pride if we just walk in and out. Especially as we are now planning to rob him."

"Are we doing thomethin' bad?" asked Nel.

As a by-product of Hueco Mundo, her moral compass had no issue with killing and stealing, so long as those she cared about were fine.

"Well, it's a little complicated," hedged Usopp, who could see it would not be so simple for the guy in charge of this place.

"Sure it is," broke in Lilynette. "We broke in here and found a bunch of shiny toys, and we're taking the shiny toys. It doesn't get more complicated than that."

"Well said," grinned Robin, patting the younger girl on the head. Lilynette pretended she did not appreciate the gesture.

Robin's face hardened right after though, as did the rest of the original Straw Hats. "Coming here gave us purpose," she harshly said. "The journey led us to new friends, for which we are grateful, yet that does not change the fact that the destination is not what we were hoping for."

"So we need a new one," Brook stated. "But what? Where can we go?"

"Well, there's the Human World, don'tcha know?"

As one they all turned to Dondochakka. "Where?" Zoro flatly asked.

Cowering, Dondo quickly threw out, "The Human World! Where the living Souls dwell!"

The original Straw Hats blinked. They're memories remained vague, and they had never really questioned the details, but that there was another world did in hindsight make sense.

It was embarrassing really.

"Hmm, that would definitely be different," mused Apacci.

"You knew!?" blurted Chopper.

Blushing a bit, Apacci furiously nodded. "Well yeah, I mean, I haven't been there myself, but most of the Hollows that make me up have been!"

"Why didn't you say anything!?"

"We thought you knew," cut in Halibel. "Moreover, Hollows like us cannot sustain ourselves there. When we were just Hollows the Souls were too weak, and too little Reishi in the air." She hesitated as she realized her mistake. "Although now as Arrancar it may be possible to make it work."

"Well," and now Starrk was contributing, stroking his chin and ignoring the surprise at him actually taking the initiative. "If this Aizen guys got this many Hollows together, then he's got to be feeding them. Maybe it's something besides other Hollows or those pieces of trees." As Hueco Mundo was abundant in Reishi, it was merely a matter of finding a way to inhale it. Alas, the Straw Hats had been forced to endure methods that were . . . lacking in culinary bliss.

"I'm an idiot!" facepalmed Sanji, before rounding on Franky. "Find out what they're eating here! Now!"

Not having to be told twice, Franky soared through the computer files until: "Got it! Apparently they're eating Reishi enriched food from . . . Soul Society? Huh. Guess this Aizen's been ripping off food grown for his fellow Shinigami, to feed his soldiers here. Classy guy."

"Where. Is. It," gritted out Sanji.

A map was drawn up, and Sanji Sonido'd out of sight. In another blur he returned to grab Brook and Starrk each in one hand, and delicately asked Halibel and her daughters to help him grab as much food as possible.

That issue settled, Jinbe, Franky, Zoro, and Robin, all turned their attention back to what they would need.

"Clothing?" Robin asked, knowing that being able to change their appearances, even superficially, would help divorce them of this present life. "We also need any and all information on how to grow more of this food on our own."

"Before that," cut in Zoro, "we need to know more about this Aizen guy."

"I'd say he is due to arrive soon, and that the Hollows have gathered to be his audience," noted Robin.

"Oh great," moaned Usopp. "Which means that super-powerful army and their even _more_ super-powerful boss are going to be on our heads any moment now!"

"We can't be sure, yet it's possible that all of his preparations for war against the Shinigami are nearly complete. In which case, he is bound to be distracted by that."

Jinbe turned to Pesche and Dondochakka. "Do the Shinigami go to the Human World as well?"

The duo bobbed their heads. "All the time. It's where them and Hollows fight the most," answered Pesche.

"Which means that the Shinigami will be distracted too," sneered Zoro. "Pity, I'd like to try my blades against 'em."

"Who?" Chopper asked. "The guys here or the Shinigami?"

"Both. If guys that strong," he jerked a thumb towards the distant, mass gathering of Arrancar, "are concerned about these Shinigami, then they've got to be a fun fight too."

"I should've known," sighed Chopper.

"Oi!" interrupted Franky. "Says here this Aizen guy's supposed to arrive any time today!" He stepped away from the computer and clapped his hands together, and declared, "Right, we gotta move fast! Usopp, Chopper, you're with me. We're going for the science labs."

"What're we taking?" asked Usopp, ready to move.

"All of it of course! Especially the medical stuff." Then the large man looked at his hands. "I feel wrong still. Like my body's missing something." He smirked. "Something . . . robotic. This place? I bet if I can't find the tools to make me into a SUPER cyborg, I can find the tools to _make_ the tools to do it!"

Awesome cried Usopp and Chopper with stars in their eyes. Zoro and Jinbe were struggling to hide their own interest, while Robin just looked unimpressed. Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka were confused. Unfortunately for Robin, she missed how intrigued Lilynette seemed at the idea . . .

No! Bad tomboy! Bad! Girls don't like or get cool Mecha! It's the rules!

Jinbe, Robin, Chopper, and Usopp all turned stern looks onto Zoro. "You're to stay here and not to leave!" ordered Usopp.

"What!? Why!?"

Ignoring him, Robin crouched down to Nel's height, and gently asked, "Please keep him in this room so he doesn't get lost?"

"Thure!" she chirped, showing her little fangs. "Nel'll keep him nithe an' thafe tho he doethn't wander off like Luffy wath thayin'!"

"That's a lie! The desert just keeps shifting."

"Or maybe you get lost and you're an idiot," deadpanned Pesche.

"What was that!?"

"Nothing! Please forgive me oh violent one!" cowered Pesche and Dondochakka.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

With a savage kick, Sanji knocked down the doors to the primary food storage depot.

Unfolding before his eyes were rows upon rows of preserved foods.

Openly weeping, he fell to his knees.

His companions barely heard him whisper, "I can be a cook again . . ."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

While Nel kept pulling on Zoro's ears and hair whenever he tried to wander off, Pesche and Dondochakka were shanghaied by Franky into helping carry every piece of equipment he came across.

It was not that Franky was being lazy or a bully, it was just that there was _so_ _much_ to take. And Franky wanted it _all_.

As it was, he was meticulously packing up every scrap of the now former owner's databases to trawl through at his leisure.

Usopp was being particularly useful going over the various devices, as they all realized they had subconsciously remembered he was an amateur inventor. Chopper was proving how extensive his medical knowledge was as well. . . . Plus, the disturbing experiments they were discovering were putting pad to any lingering guilt over robbing blind whoever's place this was.

It was as sick, sick, _twisted_ mind that lived here.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"I can be trusted to walk around on my own!" yelped Zoro.

"That'th not what they thaid!" giggled Nel, dangling from one of his ears.

"They're nothing but liars!"

"Thith ith fun!"

"Go have fun with Curlybrows then!"

The next moment Sanji was there, dropping down two sacks three times his height, before disappearing again, a strange, unsettling look in his visible eye.

"What wath that?" Nel quietly asked.

Idly, Zoro opened up one of the bags to peer inside. "Oh yeah. I forgot. He's an Idiot Cook as well . . ."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Brook did not collapse to his knees when he opened a room to shelves upon shelves of tea.

No, with icy determination he merely started looking for a cup, bowl, or _anything_ to hold some water.

If he did not get a drink of sweet bliss, he would just die!

Oh wait. As a Hollow he was dead already, right?

Yo ho ho ho~?

He stroked his chin, and then stood straight. "I'm already dead! Skull joke! Yo ho ho ho~!"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"So what's in here?" chirped Chopper.

"Well," boomed Franky, "this is the one place that whoever owned this place didn't keep records on. Except," and now he gave the large doors before him a shrewd look, "I'd say this is the most secure place in the whole complex. Made to survive as much damage as possible."

"No lock," pointed out Usopp, "so it's meant to protect whatever's here, not keep anyone out." He scratched his head. "I'm surprised there's not any traps at least."

"Eh, from what I could find, the loser's not only totally arrogant, he's also a micro-manager. All the security besides those guards is to be controlled directly by him. By one of his computer systems."

"Ah," Usopp and Chopper nodded in understanding, before the former finished that line of thought. "And since no one would dare break in here, and of course he'd be here to protect it all, along with the rest of guys living here, what did he have to worry about? Right?"

"Precisely," sneered Franky, wrenching the door open. "So let's see what kind of goodies he's got in—"

He broke off at the sight of corpses hanging from the walls and ceiling, in various stages of dissection. A computer station was set aside, doubtless for separate records of what went on here.

"Research samples," whispered a horrified Chopper. Then an intimidating fury broke out across his childlike face. "We're burning it all down."

"Roger."

"Roger."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

More and more of the place was looted as teams raced back and forth, knowing they were on a shortening deadline.

A few more packs of weakling guards got in their way, only to be dispatched.

"They're trying to slow us down to buy time," warned Jinbe.

"Which means that they think their boss will be here any moment," agreed Zoro.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

The Straw Hats were startled by the sudden return of Luffy and Nami, having gone unnoticed by both their speed, and from how they concealed their presence.

With a huff, Nami jumped out of Luffy's arms, clearly irritated by being carried in such a fashion. The duo blinked at the sight of everyone wearing sharp, white outfits. Brook was also passing around fine, ceramic cups of steaming tea, while Sanji was offering pastries.

'Bliss' was the only word to describe the looks on the Straw Hats' faces. _Finally_ , real, actual, and _delicious_ food and drink!

Within a heartbeat, Sanji was at Nami's side, offering her the sweetest of treats, while shoving towards Luffy a platter of sandwiches. "Delicacies for the angel, and enough to keep even you satisfied for now," declared the chef. "And that," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "will do for later."

The room was stuffed to the brim with massive bags and boxes . . . as were the corridors.

"Tch," grunted Zoro, looking into one particular bag. "Was it really necessary to take even the kitchen sink?"

"Where else are we supposed to wash up!?" snapped an irate Sanji. They could take his new kitchen from his cold, dead hands!

Until he got a new one.

He figured he might be able to do that in the Human World.

Franky was carefully calibrating some machines that would allow them to take things into the Human World. Something about 'particle conversion' or whatever that would make sure the stuff all stayed 'real' in the Living World. Apparently it had originally been designed with the intent of bring things back, but who cared? Doors opened both ways, right?

Luffy and Nami quickly put on new outfits that had been set aside for them, with Luffy wearing white shorts, a white open coat, and Nami put on tight white pants, and a white shirt that showed her midriff and a generous portion of her cleavage. "Nice," she said, admiring herself. "How'd you know?"

"Just a guess," admitted Brook. "Did you put those panties on?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"Can I please see them?"

"Hiyaaah!" she shrieked, decking him.

"Hey, Luffy," smiled Zoro as he walked up. "How's a trip to another world sound for our next adventure?"

Beaming, Luffy hugged him with joy. "Y'mean it!?"

"Yes, yes, now get off," the one-eyed man said not unkindly.

"Well then, let's go!"

"Opening the Garganta!" called out Franky. They had been forced to do it close to the hole they had first entered through, due to how much stuff they had filled the hallways with. "Starrk, you go through first."

"Why?" the lazy man said with confusion.

"According to this, you'll be able to use your Reiryoku to make a platform within. Make a big and stable one for us to carry all the goods through at once."

"Ah, alright."

"We must be wary though," warned Halibel. "This is our first time doing this, and if we're not careful, we might open the Garganta into the Seireitei instead!"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"No, no, no, no, no!" frothed Szayelaporro. "They're getting away! Who knows what they took from my lab!?"

"Well now, there's one way to settle that."

So incensed was the pink-haired scientist that he did not even register the voice until he realized there was an intensifying light from behind him.

Spinning around, he gasped at the sight of a sneering Grimmjow charging up a massive Cero.

None of the other Espada cared enough to really intervene for Szayelaporro. Several of them even considered it a worthy sacrifice to harm those who had dared insult Lord Aizen with their very presence.

"NO DON'T—!"

"DEATH TO THE INVADERS!" cackled the Espada of Destruction, and let loose with the most powerful attack he could manage without his Release, or techniques forbidden within Las Noches.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Incoming!" yelled Apacci as she saw through the hole in the wall what was coming their way. Honestly, as powerful as it was, a Cero was too slow to cover such a distance without giving them time to react. What kind of idiot would expect them to miss it?

Unfortunately, they were all a bit exposed right now while throwing bags and boxes into the open gateway as fast as they could.

"We're still getting ready to pack up!" hissed Mila Rose. "We've got to take it out!"

"Allow me." Dressed in an all-white kimono, with geta sandals even, Jinbe made his way forward. With a powerful palm-thrust he met the powerful blast of Hollow Reiryoku and batted it aside. "Hmph," he grunted, hand not even singed.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"What!?" scowled Grimmjow.

"Hah!" heckled Luppi. "That was weak! Let me show you how it's really done!"

"If you attack my lab again—!" Szayelaporro began to threaten, just as Hooler and the Gillians gave a fearsome screech.

From Hooler burst a thin beam of golden light that stabbed into the air before disappearing through a rift in it.

Following his lead, the Gillians tore open the Garganta that the largest Hollow had formed, and began to shove their way into the Seireitei.

"Lord Aizen is now returning," announced Ulquiorra.

"Obviously," snarled Grimmjow.

"Hopefully he'll let us go after the intruders," sneered Nnoitra.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

While Jinbe did not fully understand what that golden column meant, he knew their grace period was quickly nearing an end. "It's time to go!" he called back over his shoulder.

Despite this, he did not budge.

"Hey, what're you doing?" asked Apacci, who had started to run back towards the others.

"Yeah, are you planning to stay?" called out Lilynette.

"Luffy!" Jinbe said instead. "While we have intruded upon their territory, and killed their underlings, we cannot let such an attack go unanswered."

It was the Hollow way.

Moreover, Jinbe knew there was a time to hide your strength, and a time to make clear you were not the type to overlook an attack upon those under your protection.

Face sternly set, Luffy simply said, "Jinbe, answer back."

Except a Cero would be too weak and slow.

So Jinbe dragged the knuckles of his right hand over one of the fangs of his Hollow mask, drawing blood. With careful deliberation he pulled back his fist at shoulder height, and charged a red Cero—

—and the energy met his blood. Instantly the blood shifted to a bright blue, rippling and crackling with energy contained and suppressed by his implacable discipline.

"GRAN RAY CERO!" roared the Sea Knight as he punched forward.

Unleashed, the blast rocketed towards the center of the army of Arrancar, a spinning disc that distorted the very fabric of space itself as it traveled, leaving ripples in the fabric of reality as it passed.

Even for most of the Espada, this overwhelming might would barely be contained within this form, wanting to break free. Compressing and decompressing due to the sheer speed and power held within.

For a Vasto Lorde such as Jinbe, it flew straight and true to fulfil its purpose.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

With lightning reflexes, Baraggan and Ulquiorra leaped away first, with the rest of the Espada following suit.

The various Fraccion and other Numeros scattered in a panic as their lords reacted.

Burning with power the incredible attack erupted near where they had all been standing, unleashing a massive explosion that sent the weakest flying and the rest were forced to struggle to remain in place with spiritual energy.

"Peh, weaklings," scoffed Yammy as he saw the non-Espada struggle, before looking in the direction of the invaders. "And those losers've done it now. Not only did they just invite us over there to massacre them, they wasted their shot!"

"Uhm, I wouldn't say that."

Now Yammy was feeling a bit confused. Someone had made him angry, so that meant he could go squash 'em. Right? Right! Seems like he would have to remind his fellow Espada of that. "Who cares if a bunch of small fry died!?" he furiously yelled without turning around. "That just means they weren't worth living any longer."

No one said anything, and now Yammy registered the expressions of the rest of the Espada in sight, who were all looking past him with varying degrees of fear. Even Baraggan and Ulquiorra, who remained as impassive as ever, both seemed to project an air of nervousness.

Spinning around, he realized that near the edge of the crater, Hooler was twitching in death throes as a massive chunk of his gigantic body was missing. Meanwhile, the Gillians who had been helping it project the Negacion, were all dead or dying as well.

The Negacion that had just been activated at Lord Aizen's command to signal his return to take up permanent residence of Hueco Mundo.

Lord Aizen (and his two top lieutenants) who was now trapped within Soul Society after having been –too briefly—enveloped in said Negacion. As in three towering golden beams of light that could be seen for kilometers, originating from a massive tear in the sky.

"Uh, oh . . ."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"By the way, Senchou," Robin said, "did you find what you were looking for?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He popped back to the pile of rags that had been his clothes, and dug through them. "I sensed something weird, and when Nami and I got there, my Pesquisa found a small space where there was no Reishi or anything. So I focused harder—" Everyone nodded. Luffy's Pesquisa was unquestionably the most refined. "—and I found something. With Nami's help. Here."

He pulled out a small, purple orb.

At first his fellow Arrancar did not sense anything of interest, yet the more they looked at it, the greater the sense of something _alien_ struck home for them. Something vast, aware, and still slumbering.

"Yeah, pretty cool, ain't it?" beamed Luffy.

Then he swallowed it.

Whole.

"I didn't think I'd ever find candy again so quick! Hopefully there's even more in the Human World!"

With that, he jauntily led the others through the open Garganta.

Franky, Chopper, and Usopp's arms were shaking between competing compulsions to facepalm and strangle him for eating that mysterious object before they could study it. Especially not knowing what it was. The rest just sighed and grabbed the last of the bags to head on out.

Unfelt and unseen by the rest, a pulse of energy went through him and to the rest of the Straw Hats new and old as well . . .

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Well, at least Aizen's the forgiving type who will not take exception with his underlings failing to stop the disruption of his dramatic exit.**

 **. . . Right?**

 ***Resisting urge to have Aizen just kill off all the Espada because their names are so irritating to keep writing again and again.***

 **.**

 **I was honestly tempted to have the SHP recruit Gantenbainne Mosqueda. I mean, the idea of a spirit in a Japanese setting praising God would alone be a fascinating approach. Not to mention his personality, and how despite being an ex-Espada he is probably Fukutaicho-class. Unfortunately, I feel that Aizen's ego would require all noteworthy Espada being present to bask in his arrival. As well as to emphasise his authority over them all.**

 **.**

 **I know that Aizen comes off looking pretty bad in this chapter as the Straw Hats run amok of his base. That said, this is not going to be one of those stories where Aizen is called a genius, but then makes some pretty stupid mistakes, or unimaginative plans. I want a decent villain for my story, not one who just arrogantly brags about his greatness, and then rants about how he is superior when things stop going his way.**

 **So yeah, Luffy and Co. got lucky with the timing of their arrival. Otherwise there would have been some genuine opposition, including Aizen himself making a move once he figured out that there were 6 Vasto Lordes hiding their power.**

 **.**

 **Yes, in canon for Ichigo and Co. it was THREE days away from the entrance. It is just that Nel and her siblings were in a different spot when they ran into the others this time.**

 **.**

 **For the Espada, the reason Wonderweiss, or at least the Hollow that would become known as Wonderweiss, is not on the list is because despite is noteworthy power, he was being kept for a 'special mission.' So Aizen had him sequestered somewhere safe.**

 **.**

 **The line about 'shiny toys' is purely MasterQwerster.**

 **.**

 **I know readers will have a lot of theories about that 'purple ball,' as well as skepticism as to how it got there. Bear with me until next chapter.**

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 **Next Chapter: "Aizen Sosuke and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	4. Aizen and the Terrible, Horrible

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out!

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Guest

LOL love "For maximum irony, I hope the Negacion cut out right when he was boasting about becoming the new god. Guess the new god is a little behind on his lighting bills, then." Lightning bill! X-D

As for Wonderwiss, well I mean the Hollow that would become the Arrancar known as Wonderweiss after being modified by the Hogyoku for a 'certain' task.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Guest

I am open to suggestion about Lilynette and her robots.

Aizen is such a good smooth liar and manipulator he really can just claim credit for just about anything, and it is hard to deny.

That Aizen had his own Hogyoku is something that goes surprisingly overlooked by other authors . . .

Yes, Aizen is definitely going to have a *Fun* chapter here! ;-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Dr. No Good

Going to keep the two worlds utterly separate except for the Straw Hats. Otherwise the One Piece world might overwhelm the Bleach one too readily.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Reviews and Support! :-D

.

HUNTER020020

Sorry to disappoint, but there will be no other people from One Piece besides the Straw Hats.

Great to hear the characters are spot on! :-D

Nah, it was just candy. Honest… X-P

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

TheB

Glad you liked the cliffhanger so much :-) And yeah, definitely going to have to make an epic reaction by Urahara to that revelation!

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 4: Aizen Sosuke and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

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 _Previously:_

 _The Straw Hats finally reached the palace of Las Noches, only to discover that their fellow Hollows who lived there were no better than slaves to a Shinigami of all things. Fortunately for Luffy and Co., this 'Lord' Aizen Sosuke was preparing to return to Hueco Mundo, and thus demanded a full audience of his strongest Arrancar to wait for him, while taking his sweet time to actually arrive. Thus, most of the guards were absent, and forced to impotently sense the intruders loot Las Noches without being free to intervene. When they realized the Straw Hats were leaving, the Cuatro Espada,_ _Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, fired off an attack at them . . ._

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Soul Society.

The afterlife.

Where all the souls passed on to, while awaiting reincarnation back to the World of the Living.

Overseen by the Shinigami, the Death Gods, who not only oversaw this process, but protected the vulnerable Souls from the fallen ones. Protected them from the Hollows.

Their headquarters was the fortress city known as the Court of Pure Souls, the Seireitei, which was the center of authority for all of this. There these Shinigami operated as part of the military organization, the Gotei 13. Or, the 13 Court Guard Squads, who served the distant and unseen Soul King, Reio.

A place of power and authority that oversaw the Balance of Worlds, and the flow of immortal souls that endlessly reincarnated. Thirteen mighty Divisions, each obeying the commands of the awesome power of their personal Taichou, served to maintain the flow and balance of Souls throughout the cosmos.

Over the last few days though, it had suffered from both invasion and civil war.

An entire Division, the 11th Division, which was viewed as the strongest of all, had suffered nearly 99% casualties.

Senior officers from other Divisions had been hospitalized. Had turned their blades upon each other.

The Central 46, the judicial, legislative, and all-around government, had been found murdered.

Fortunately, the one responsible for all of this had been brought to light, and was now surrounded.

Aizen Sosuke's arms were pinned, with his Zanpakutou and its power of Complete Hypnosis safely stuck in its sheath. Another Zanpakutou was at his throat, as well as that of his subordinates.

All around them were the majority of the still-loyal Taichou, Fukutaichou, and even the mighty Soutaichou.

"It's over," Shihoin Yoruichi coldly said. Truthfully, the man who had been the oh-so `beloved` Taichou of the 5th Division, was a little amused she had not tried to kill him already. She _was_ Soul Society's ex-chief assassin after all, and Aizen was the one responsible for her and her best friends having to go into exile. Plus various other so-called 'crimes' he had committed. Maybe she thought if they took him alive, it would be possible to get a pardon for herself and everyone else he had framed? Even those poor, second-rate officers he had Hollowfied a century ago?

Best of all, she thought she had _won_! His mental countdown was nearly complete too.

So he let his amusement show.

"What is it? What's so funny, Aizen?" she demanded.

"Oh. I'm sorry. _It's time_."

He saw the look of comprehension on her face as she leapt back while yelling for her former student Soi-Fong, the poor child with her Zanpakutou at his throat, to do the same.

They barely escaped alive.

Right before openly revealing himself, he had used a custom Kido to activate a delayed signal for his retreat. Carefully keeping track as time went by, he had entertained himself humiliating the Taichou, giving long dramatic speeches, handling any interference, and most importantly, acquiring Urahara Kisuke's Hogyoku. Now precisely on schedule, a rip appeared in the sky above, and out shot a golden beam to envelope him.

Giant hands tore open the opening further, revealing massive black figures with white, long-nosed masks. Easily towering over even the four legendary gatekeeper giants of the Seireitei, they were all visible to every Shinigami as they stared up at the sky in mounting shock.

Why, it was even supposed to be impossible for a Hollow to enter Seireitei in the first place. What a shame.

The show continued with the twelve gigantic Gillian-class Menos Grande Hollows continuing to enlarge the hole. A casual display of Aizen's power, as even most of the individual taichou would be wary of facing that many of the beasts on their own. Wider and wider they tore open the Garganta until the even-more massive eye of Hooler, the largest of Aizen's subjects (barring Yammy's Resurreccion, although Hooler still had some interesting abilities), ominously stared out.

Two more beams of light stabbed down to safely shield and extract Aizen's subordinates: Ichimaru Gin, the now ex-Taichou of the 3rd Division, and Tousen Kaname, the former head of the 9th Division. Their own respective guards barely making enough space to save their arms.

The ground cracked beneath the traitors, and the segments they were standing on began to rise through the air. Yamamoto-soutaichou diligently informed the uninformed amongst his subordinates that nothing could penetrate the light surrounding them, called Negacion. As he said: ". . . the moment that light came down, Aizen was beyond our reach."

"Tousen!" screamed the familiar voice of Komamura Sajin. The wolf-like Taichou had finally regained consciousness, dripping in blood from innumerable wounds in a futile attempt to take on Aizen himself. The ex-5th Division Taichou did not even bother glancing at the proceedings; it was all too predictable, and equally irrelevant, as Tousen had been his for well over a century.

"Come down, Tousen!" screamed the 7th Division Taichou. "Why!? Why did you become a Shinigami!? Wasn`t it for your dead friend!? Wasn't it to uphold Justice?!"

 _Naïve fool_ , thought Aizen offhandedly.

"WHERE HAS YOUR SENSE OF JUSTICE GONE?!"

"I told you, Komamura," Kaname coldly answered, "I follow the path least soaked in blood. Justice is there always. The path I walk _is_ Justice."

 _Perfectly vague and misleading. Gin couldn't do it better_ , complimented the mastermind. _Although he would be sure to make sure it was more unsettling_."

"Tousen!"

"You joined forces with the Menos."

Now Aizen did deign to pay attention to who was speaking. After all, the experience, intelligence, and surprisingly open-mind of Ukitake Jushiro, the venerated Thirteenth Division Taichou was someone Aizen nearly respected.

"Why?" asked the man, who despite his long, white-hair seemed far younger than his vast age.

"To seek greater heights," he simply answered.

Uncharacteristically harsh, Ukitake demanded, " _Have you fallen, Aizen?!_ "

"Don't kid yourself, Ukitake." Carefully he positioned himself so he was framed by the Hollows as he rose up to them. " _No one has ever stood atop the heavens before_. Not you, or I, or the gods." With delicate care he removed his glasses which had long been part of his deception, while with his other hand he slicked back his hair he had always kept so artfully ruffled. "But the unbearable vacancy of Heaven's throne ends now." The glasses crumbled to dust between his fingers. "From now on," he paused to let his new —true— appearance show.

" _I will stand at the top_."

The world exploded.

Impossible to sense from the other side, a powerful attack pulsating with Hollow —no, Arrancar!— Reiatsu, burst out of the other side of the Garganta, with some of the concentrated energy funneled directly down the Negacion at the trapped occupants.

For all their shock, each man still possessed over a century of honed reflexes that reacted even while their minds were still too shocked. Palms infused with their own Reiatsu met the blast at the last second, blunting it so that burnt palms were all the traitors suffered.

Well, Gin and Tousen's were. Aizen's was hardly marked.

Blinking the intense light out of their eyes, they could only gape at how the Garganta, their escape route, was now sealed shut.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends could only blink in surprise at this sudden (and newest) turn in events.

The surrounding Shinigami of the Gotei 13 were equally stunned.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 _Impossible!_ Aizen thought in disbelief. _Who would dare!?_

From the Reiatsu, intensity, and where it must have come from, it was obvious an Espada must have done this. Except none of the Espada should have the spine. Not anymore. _Plus, I would have recognized them . . ._ he distractedly noted.

His confusion cost him a crucial half-second.

"Shunko!"

The fists of Shihoin Yoruichi, the dark-skinned 'Flash Goddess' pummeled him, striking his vulnerable points with immense power and, above all else, _speed_. Enhanced as she was with her special technique, he had never sensed her arrival.

Bones cracked before he readjusted his Reiatsu to protect himself, and an elbow strike hurled her through the air. The spine of any other Taichou would have been reduced to mere shrapnel by that point.

The temperature skyrocketed.

Despite knowing what it meant, Aizen still looked down to see the flaming sword in the hands of Yamamoto Genryusai-soutaichou. The strongest man in the history of the Gotei 13, and his Zanpakutou, Ryujin Jakka, which wielded the strongest flames of all.

The most powerful team.

Until Aizen Sosuke and Kyoka Suigetsu.

Oh, maybe not in raw might, yet with their ability and intellect, they were more than up to the challenge.

As a demonstration, Aizen quickly drew his sword and cast Complete Hypnosis to cloak his and his subordinates' position, leaving illusions of them behind as they rapidly moved aside.

Just in time as a burst of fire rocketed past their new position. The illusion of himself seemed to merely cleave the flames aside with a casual stroke of his blade.

"Well, that was a surprise," cheekily noted Gin, still smiling despite this mess they were now stuck in.

"A rebellion perhaps," murmured Kaname. His blind eyes were turned to the ground where the rest of the Shinigami and Ryoka invaders were trying to marshal themselves.

While irritating, the situation remained fairly straightforward. They would simply move elsewhere and create a Garganta themselves to take their leave. Not as dramatic or demoralizing, but it would suffice.

Aizen had an appointment with some traitors in Hueco Mundo after all.

Hmm, a raw display of power instantly and effortlessly slaughtering whoever was responsible, or dragged out torment? Decisions, decisions.

A large scimitar burst out of his chest.

Gasping in disbelief, Aizen turned his head around to see a silent and grim Kyoraku Shunsui-taichou emerge from a shadow cast upon Kaname's chest from the sun behind them. A sneak attack launched literally out of his own subordinate. On the 8th Division Taichou's face, there was no sign of the jovial, alcoholic lecher; only the merciless warrior.

Inconceivable.

He would allow that the man's Shikai allowed him to fight using shadows, except with Complete Hypnosis it was impossible for him to locate them, much less find a usable shadow.

Unless . . .

Shihoin Yoruichi!

Quick as a snake, Gin drew his sword, yet before anyone could react, Aizen flared his vast Reiatsu, knocking them all away. This also erased the trace of Shihoin's own Reiryoku that she had planted on his back during her attack.

"Taimatsu."

An inferno erupted from Ryujin Jakka and filled Aizen's vision as the Soutaichou decided to 'reprimand' the traitors himself. "Bakudo #81, Danku!" Aizen yelled in desperation, powering into it all the Reiryoku he could summon in such a short period of time.

The Kido barrier held against the flames.

Almost.

Burning through, it caught him in savage fires to reduce him to ash.

If he had stood still.

Even moving as he can conjured the spell to slow it down, Aizen's Shunpo gave him the speed to escape, while only being burnt by the edges of it.

Third degree burns still covered one foot.

Bleeding from the chest still as well, Aizen panted to catch his breath.

Ducking his head back, he dodged a kick from Shihoin, still wreathed in the lighting-like aura of Shunko.

He had to give her credit, reacting so quickly to this unforeseen turn of events and attacking him while simultaneously coming up with a plan for the others to follow through on. Kyoraku, a sharp man in his own right, must have realized she would have had some sort of plan, and even while speaking the incantation for his Shikai, had stretched out his senses for some kind of clue. With that to guide him, his Shikai must have locked onto a shadow, and he gambled on where he would end up. The Taichou was fortunate that he had emerged on Kaname as opposed to Aizen's own body, as the blind traitor was too weak and too easily stunned to react properly. Possibly it had been deliberate.

Regardless, that had thrown Aizen off enough to drop his Complete Hypnosis, leaving him vulnerable to Yamamoto-soutaichou, and nearly ending this all here and now.

For there was only one and only one true weakness to Kyoka Suigetsu's power: her wielder needed to be consciously projecting the illusions. A triviality in everyday life for him, even kilometers away, or even as he multi-tasked with plotting, researching, and experiments. Despite what he had told Gin years ago, he did not consider the immunity to his illusions granted by touching his blade before releasing his Shikai to really be a concern. After all, he could just cut off their offensive hands.

Creating an opening that left him impaled with an oversized blade certainly qualified as a 'distraction.' Doubtless Urahara had realized the basis of that, and told his childhood friend.

Commendable of Shihoin.

Almost.

Still, worthy of some measure of respect.

So as Shihoin flashed by, he cut off her right leg. Continuing to move, he raised one palm and intoned, "Hado #31. Shakkaho." A ball of red energy incinerated the missing limb, taking it beyond even Unohana-taichou's realm to re-attach.

Staggering on mid-air, she quickly readjusted the spiritual particles under her remaining foot, and heedless of the spilling blood turned to punch him.

Her fist passed right through his image.

Complete Hypnosis, success.

Backing up, Aizen saw that Kaname was under attack by Soi-Fong, the Second Division Taichou, and former protégé of Shihoin. Unfortunately for the dark-skinned man, he was at a clear disadvantage as his hands were still burnt, making it harder for him to wield his Zanpakutou. Moreover, his serious wounds from fighting Kenpachi earlier were starting to re-open. Of course, when the young woman saw her mentor's state, she would be suitably distracted.

Gin was another story.

Despite similar burns of his own, Gin was squaring off against Kyoraku, and had already unleashed his Bankai, the final release of his Zanpakutou, his Kamishini no Yari, the God-Killing Spear. While still appearing as a simple wakizashi, the short blade was surprisingly powerful in this form, as the incredibly sharp blade could extend and contract at five hundred times the speed of sound.

However, the difference in their respective skills, compounded by painful injuries, was tragically clear to witness. Kyoraku was clearly overwhelming the young, silver-haired prodigy with just his Shikai. Not only was the centuries-old Taichou in a league of his own when it came to swordsmanship, as shallow cuts began to show over Gin, but once his Zanpakutou started activating more of its multitude of special abilities, it would be all over. Thankfully, it appeared his quirky and opinionated Zanpakuto had not deemed the battle worthy of its unique and varied abilities, giving Gin some breathing room. Moreover, the fox-faced man had the cunning and will-power to hold on a little longer.

Satisfied, Aizen immediately began an emergency battlefield Kido to repair his injuries, starting with his spine. _Kaname will last long enough, and Gin too. Still, it wouldn't do for them to die right now. Especially Gin, as it would be duller without him around._

He was invisible to all senses now, and multi-tasked by looking down to see Kurosaki Ichigo being desperately healed by his lady friend. _What an interesting technique she is using. Still, he won't be able to walk for a bit yet, and none of the other Ryoka are worth mentioning._

As for the remaining Taichou, Komamura Sajin and Kuchiki Byakuya were both too injured to fight still, and neither Zaraki Kenpachi nor Kurotsuchi Mayuri were present. Unohana Retsu was likely still healing Hitsugaya Toushiro after Aizen had sliced his chest open.

The Fukutaichou, the direct subordinates to the Taichou, were not even worth considering.

So no worries there then.

Only Ukitake Jushiro-taichou and his mentor Yamamoto-soutaichou remained as a threat, and both were stuck hovering in the air trying to find him.

Hmm, Ukitake was trying to use his Shikai's ability to absorb the energy behind an enemy's attack to use it against them. Laudable, except Aizen had checked over a century ago to be sure that was not a threat. While his Complete Hypnosis relied upon his Reiryoku of course, the actual illusions were dispersed enough to go unnoticed by Ukitake's Zanpakuto.

A quick shift in his deception, and Soi-Fong and Kyoraku were trying to kill each other.

Recognizing this, both Gin and Kaname regrouped with their master. He had also insured that Gin could not detect the extent of his injuries. Just in case. Kaname (blind and thus unable to be ensnared by Kyoka Suigetsu), could be counted upon to keep his silence.

Both men were panting a little, while Gin was trying to put pressure on a moderate cut on his left arm with a burnt palm. That looked painful really.

"Well then," Aizen lightly said. "I do believe it is time for us to say our goodbyes."

"Taimatsu."

The sky lit on fire at Yamamoto's will.

With perfect precision, it engulfed all but a small section where Soi-Fong and Kyoraku were fighting each other. Recognizing what this meant, the latter quickly waved his arms up and down, making the head of the Second Division and Onmitsukido hesitate at what 'Kaname' was doing. Then the head of the Gotei 13's assassins and saboteurs caught on as well, and stopped trying to inadvertently kill her comrade.

The three traitors were not so fortunate.

All of them were suffering serious burns now, and only another barrier of Aizen's saved them from death. That and the fact even the legendary Soutaichou could not create such a spread with the same intensity as his previous –more focused— strike against Aizen.

"He's covering the whole region in flames until he kills us!" coughed Kaname. Being weaker, their burns were far more extensive.

Aizen nearly killed him right then and there for speaking the patently obvious. Clearly Yamamoto was starting to get an idea for how Aizen preferred to use his Shikai. That or the surprisingly-wily Ukitake had advised him.

His heart was pounding, pain he had not felt in years covered his body, and he knew that once again his Complete Hypnosis had been stripped away by his distraction.

"Hado #90, Kurohitsugi," he snarled, and a black spiritual coffin engulfed Ukitake. The man would survive, especially if he managed to use his Shikai in time to absorb away some of the power, yet the strain of that attack all across his relatively weak body would take him out of the fight.

More importantly, Yamamoto's eyes flickered for the briefest moment to look to the fate of his surrogate son.

Too long.

Kyoka Suigetsu's power sang again, and Yamamoto moved to block the false sword swing at his head, only for Aizen to stab him through the gut.

A scarred hand grabbed his Zanpakuto, holding it in place, while the aged fist drew back to crush the young upstart's skull, now able to detect him through his own blade.

The traitor's palm reached the old man's face first. "Hado #63, Raikoho."

Immense lightning blasted the Soutaichou's head back, yet he was far from being out of the fight.

Twisting Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen tore it out of the man to the side, half bisecting him, and followed through with a long slash across the chest.

"Brat," growled Yamamoto, and this time his punch connected and utterly shattered the younger man's left shoulder bones.

"Hado #4," hissed Aizen. "Byakurai." The overpowered lightning bolt went right through Yamamoto's heart. His injuries rising, and his spinal column aching dangerously, it was clearly he was outmatched up close, so Aizen made some distance.

Flames burned towards him, yet just in time, Kyoraku passed right in front of him as Aizen's ongoing illusions made him think he was heading to Yamamoto's aid.

Dropping the apparition, Aizen let Yamamoto see the charred form of his pupil and surrogate son.

Ukitake was still falling down to the ground.

It was not sentiment that made Yamamoto hesitate this time, having already hardened his heart. Instead, it was genuine confusion that stayed his hand as he only now fully understood the repercussions of the power he faced. A hasty move, or worse, his Bankai, could decimate the entirety of the Seireitei.

Having regained his composure, Aizen bade a hasty withdrawal. Yamamoto was a dangerous foe on a good day, and he was still applying more and more emergency healing.

It was only then that he chose to fully register a familiar spiritual presence rapidly and implausibly approaching.

"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

While he had been well aware of who was approaching before hearing that maniacal laughter, the fake copy of Aizen everyone could see only now acted as he had noticed. Pretending he had been oblivious until hearing that grating sound from the powerhouse flying towards him. Eyepatch removed so his full, incredibly immense power was unsealed.

Zaraki Kenpachi-taichou.

Indeed a threat.

If he was actually capable of hitting the real Aizen.

 _Although how is he coming at me mid-air? He doesn't have the spiritual_ _control to fly. Leaping this high on pure muscle_ _? And he wasn't even at the_ _Soukyoku Hill, so how did he reach here so quickly?_

Regardless, the conspirator turned his attention back to healing his wounds, content to let the berserker just sail by towards what was really just empty space.

He barely brought up Kyoka Suigetsu in time.

Arm shuddering as sparks flew, he blocked Kenpachi's casual swipe, seeming just as surprised as him.

"Huh, so there was someone there after all."

 _Instinct!_ raged Aizen. With so much going on, and with the pain and so many targets, small flaws were creeping into his hypnosis. Enough for someone like the latest Kenpachi, who relied almost solely on reflexes and instincts like the primitive he was, to react.

Fortunately the madman kept sailing right on by.

No.

"Bakudo #61. Rikujokoro."

Six bars of light speared into Kenpachi, holding him struggling still mid-air.

 _I'll take off his head._

An erupting spiritual pressure from behind forced him to withdraw, as a massive blade swung down where he had been before.

Komamura Sajin-Taichou was back in the field.

 _Ah. I see_. Kenpachi could not have reached here so fast, nor made such a leap with perfect accuracy. While Komamura was probably still not fully conscious of what Kyoka Suigetsu was capable of, bringing one of the strongest warriors straight to the battlefield was straightforward enough, especially if he pulled another little trick.

Persecuted for his wolf-like appearance though, Komamura had learnt to hide his presence like a master. Obviously, despite his grievous wounds, he had reached Kenpachi with Shunpo and brought him here. With uncharacteristic craftiness, he had propelled Kenpachi into the air, while hiding his personal Reiatsu under the other man's own as it overflowed and choked the air around him. As a final touch, he had followed right behind, hiding himself further as much as possible by narrowing his profile to stay in the blind-spot made by the smaller man and his flapping coat. By pure luck they had been heading by close enough to take advantage of it, despite how Komamura had been intending to head towards one of the illusions. Doubtless he had still seen the berserker's strike at an invisible foe, and his own keen, dog-like senses must have then detected a flaw in the hypnosis as well.

Irritating.

Pathetic really.

With a burst of his own Shunpo, Aizen was before the 7th Division Taichou, carving up his chest with a single swing.

Ignoring the fate of his supposed friend, Kaname took the time to approach Kenpachi, who was still straining to break free and fight. If it had been anyone besides Aizen who had performed the technique, he may very well have succeeded.

"Zaraki Kenpachi," Kaname said to the man who had so brutally bested him less than an hour ago. "May this lead you to understand the truth of your needless violence."

With a flick of his Zanpakutou, two hands were removed from their wrists.

Seeing no reason to maintain the Kido, Aizen released it so that Kenpachi could follow Komamura in falling down hundreds of meters to the ground.

With that out of the way, he could take the time to reflect a bit more, and knew what his next step must be.

Only Yamamoto (applying emergency first aid to himself as well) and Soi-Fong remained as active combatants, and he was not going to consider the latter a real threat. Shihoin was safely behind the Soutaichou, and had torn off her shirt to make a tourniquet for the stump that had been her right leg, shamelessly showing off her massive bust. Personally Aizen did not find her dazed complexion, as shock set in, very attractive. Briefly he considered the threat of her own trained instincts, and then dismissed it. Kenpachi had been a fluke, and he could easily overpower her.

With a flash of light, Gin impaled Soi-Fong through the stomach with his Bankai.

Coughing up blood, the diminutive woman tried to make some space, only for Shihoin to blitz in to grab her, and they both disappeared in another Shunpo.

The Gotei 13 were no longer a threat. Only the Soutaichou could hurt them, yet not find them.

Silently he took off, Kaname and Gin obediently following behind.

Mind racing, Aizen went over what had just happened. Everything had been perfect until the Negacion had inexplicably been destroyed.

Some new variable had been introduced, and he was unsure how long it would take to handle it. Thus he must remove the Seireitei's abilities to adapt while he was distracted.

With a burst of speed he took off in a certain direction with his subordinates following right behind. Gathering his power, he began an incantation:

"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired. Hado #91. Senju Koten Taiho!"

The purple spears rocketed down upon the Shinigami Research Institute, precisely targeting the most vulnerable point of the sprawling complex.

Of course, Kurotsuchi-Taichou, a fair-hand at science and safeguards himself, was well aware of the dangers associated with storing most of his most volatile components in one place. A good-sized chunk of his annual budget routinely went towards renovating and upgrading the security features.

Not that it did any good against Aizen's sheer might.

The explosion engulfed one of the massive buildings, setting off a chain reaction that sent fireballs tearing through the rest of it.

Idly he estimated that he had just halved the 12th Division. For certain he had eliminated every piece of sophisticated equipment throughout it. Now he could handle these new variables with less distractions.

Taking a deep breath as he made another assessment of his injuries, he ordered Kaname to create another Garganta so they could finally leave.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Orihime," gasped Ichigo as they watched the sky seemingly light on fire. "Heal Byakuya first!"

"But Kurosaki-kun!"

Currently the Human/Soul Reaper was within the bubble of her Soten Kisshun, using her ability to heal him as fast as possible. Unfortunately that included a nearly severed spine, along with an extremely long list of other injuries he had accumulated over the last few days. He felt it healthier not to dwell on them all. Besides, that was unimportant.

"I'm good enough now, and they need every Taichou-class they can! Get Byakuya back on his feet!"

"No."

A thousand years of authority echoed in that command as Yamamoto-soutaichou rejoined them, carrying the white-haired Taichou in his arms. The guy with the prim mustache who was his Fukutaichou, was carrying a guy wearing pink of all things. Or what had been pink, as it had been burnt off. As delicately as they could, they laid the unconscious figures down on the ground.

Despite himself, Ichigo felt a tingle go down his no-longer-exposed spine. When he had looked down upon the leaders of Soul Society while rescuing Rukia from the execution platform, he had dismissed their leader. Seeing only an elderly man hunched over his cane. No, his attention had been focused upon Byakuya, who he saw as not only a personal issue to be dealt with, as one brother to another, but most likely the strongest of the assembled Taichou.

He had been naïve.

The Soutaichou was muscled in a way that made Chad seem scrawny, covered in a horrific number of scars. Ichigo had seen and felt the flames he had unleashed, as well as the terrifying Reiatsu. Even now the 'old man' was seemingly _ignoring the quarter-sized hole through his heart!_

Ichigo's dad was a doctor! He knew where the human heart was!  
Or that his guts should be spilling out!

 _We were lucky he didn't come after us himself._

Ishida, Chad, and Ganju rushed forward, and started binding the various, horrible wounds as best they could. Ishida especially seemed to know what he was doing, and Chad had hung around the Kurosaki clinic enough times to have a decent idea of what to do. Seeming to think they had it handled, the Fukutaichou disappeared in a blur.

Yoruichi appeared next, panting as sweat ran like rain down her face. Overall though, her focus was on keeping the smaller woman in her arms alive, as she tore off one of her pant legs to press it against the horrid gut wound.

Her only pant leg.

"Yoruichi!" gasped Ishida, and everyone else in Ichigo's group was equally stunned at the stump that was her leg.

"Never mind me!" she gasped. "See to the others!"

They only briefly hesitated before getting back to what they had started. The mustache man reappeared with Kenpachi, although even as he laid the giant man down, he told the teens, "Switch. Their injuries are worse than Kenpachi's." Even as he spoke, energy flowed from his hands to encompass the warriors.

Obediently Ishida and Ganju complied, having just finished checking over the first two Taichou for any particularly serious or noteworthy wounds. The two Ryoka ripped off some of their own bandages to then wrap around the man's wrists, helping cut off any further blood loss. The sick feeling in Ichigo's gut somehow grew even more as he realized the proud (insane) warrior would never be able to wield a sword again.

A man with sunglasses appeared in a blur, struggling to hold onto that massive, dog-like guy (which Ichigo would be sure to question about when he had the chance). Chad evidently had sensed them coming, for he had been standing aside until they arrived, followed by immediately pressing down his torn-off sleeves, to help staunch all the bloody wounds.

Orihime had not budged from Ichigo, committed to finishing what she started.

Renji was still conscious despite his wounds, which elevated him to the presently prestigious title of 'healthy enough.'

Rukia was tearfully doing what she could for Byakuya now that all that Reitasu was not crushing her to the ground. From how frantically she was working, Ichigo was almost starting to regret hacking up her brother so much earlier.

Well, hacked up by him and . . .

He shoved the thought deep down, where he hoped to forget about it.

The orange-haired teen distracted himself, by noting how Rukia was also shooting fretful looks towards the white-haired guy. _Well he did destroy the execution thingy. Oh wait, yeah, Yoruichi said he's Rukia's Taichou. Alright, now things're making sense._

"Appreciated," grunted Yamamoto to the Ryoka, having finished sealing up his own wounds. With that out of the way, he also began helping at the same time, both Ukitake and the other guy who had somehow dissolved or dispersed the Soukyoku. "The 4th Division will be here momentarily," rasped the old man, healing energy flowing from one palm. "We just need to keep them alive until then."

"But what about Aizen! He—"

"Boy," Yamamoto cut him off. "He's gone. Only you and your friends can see him, and none of you are fit to be part of such a fight. He could kill you with his Reiatsu alone. He may have won this time, yet even he took wounds enough to make him retreat. We will have another day."

Just then, a bunch more people suddenly rejoined them, including the blonde, busty woman, the big fat guy, and the one with what looked like three scars down their faces. All of them were carrying at least two other Shinigami in their arms, and basically threw them towards the pile of wounded.

To his surprise, the newcomers got right to work, hands glowing with some kind of energy, and Ichigo realized that they must be medics like Hanataro. _Fourth Division, right? So that's what the Fukutaichou ran off for._

The big, fat guy was practically fretting around the small woman, who Ichigo guessed was his Taichou, until said woman demonstrated that no, she was not about to die like he was 'blubbering,' and punched him in the gut.

"Agh!" she groaned in pain, clenching her teeth.

"Stay still, Soi-Fong!" ordered Yoruichi. "You can't aggravate your injury!" She waved off a medic trying to tend to her, only for Soi-Fong to finally notice what had happened to the older woman.

"Lady Yoruichi! Your leg!"

"It's fine!" snapped Yoruichi.

"The hell it is! You need a doctor! They can reattach it!"

"Aizen destroyed it," Yoruichi said with blatantly forced calmness. "I—"

She collapsed as a doctor put aside the little tranquilizer drug he had just used on her. He got right down to treating her.

"Hmmph," grunted the old man. "If Shihoin was that distracted not to notice, then she is both rusty and truly at her limits." He glanced at the Fukutaichou for these men and women, who were anxiously standing aside to let the 4th Division work in peace, with Ichigo's still mobile friends now doing the same. "Well done getting medical help. Ah, and here is Unohana-taichou."

Indeed, there was a large creature like a manta-ray flying towards them, with the figure of a woman wearing a Taichou haori on.

She glanced at what Orihime was still doing for Ichigo, before letting her be, taking charge of her subordinates. More and more medics began to show up. From what Ichigo overheard, it seemed they had been held back by the raging Reiatsu of the battlefield. Indeed, many of the weaker Shinigami throughout the Seireitei had outright collapsed like Hanataro had when Kenpachi had come after them days **—** or maybe a lifetime **—** ago.

As the 4th Division fought to save the lives of the various Taichou, Ichigo's friends all grouped together around him.

"All that," murmured Ishida, remembering what he had talked to Ganju about when they had shared a prison cell. Learning details the man had _assumed_ they had all known before planning to break into Shinigami central. "He did all that, and with just his Shikai . . ."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Through a tear in reality, the three traitorous Shinigami exited the Garganta.

"Well, tha' was interestin'," remarked Gin, patting his head. The left half of his silver hair was now burnt off, somehow making the foxlike man somehow even more unsettling to look at.

"Be silent," snapped Kaname. "Lord Aizen—"

"Why are we not in Las Noches?" interrupted Aizen. Indeed, they were standing within the lonely dunes of Hueco Mundo, not his fortress.

This was not a good day to be on his bad side.

"Because the Espada are unnecessary."

Aizen did not so much as blink at the absurdity of that statement. Clearly the man was going into shock, or mutilating Kenpachi had left him hungering to do the same to Nnorita or Grimmjow. Especially Grimmjow.

More importantly, in all honesty he did not _care_ about punishing the Espada. Much.

Alright, a little.

. . . Okay, someone was going to die. Painfully. Maybe their fates would even serve as a warning to others.

"Lord Aizen," Kaname repeated, emphasizing his servitude, "what is to stop us from going to Karakura and making the Ouken, the King's Key, right this moment?"

"Ya mean despite all our injuries?" Gin sarcastically said. "We're hardly in any state ta be takin' on Zero Squad right now. You remember 'em, right? The most elite of the elite? An' whatever healin' we have is only a temporary fix? We need proper treatment!"

"Except Aizen already has at least one of them vulnerable to Complete Hypnosis, and they won't know of his Shikai's power yet. To say nothing of his Bankai," argued Kaname. Turning back to Aizen, he bowed his head. "Milord, why do you hesitate to unleash your incredible power? Even Yamamoto, touted as the strongest of all, was helpless before you. What is wrong?"

Aizen blinked. _What is 'wrong'?_

He had just been humiliated in front of everyone, his body was covered in burns, likely hairline fractures through his spine, been stabbed through the back and chest, one foot was nearly burnt right through, and his left shoulder was frankly _mush_.

Even more disturbingly, he had never felt so _alive!_

His heart was pounding in excitement at taking on the entire Gotei 13 despite nearly losing everything in a single moment. They had thrown every trick they had at him in his sole moment of vulnerability in centuries, and he had overcome them all! It was a rush beyond anything he had ever felt before! More intoxicating than any narcotic he had ever tried.

What had happened to throw up the playing board like this?

Another blink.

 _Why_ was he so thrilled? He had . . . been . . . hurt . . . ? Why was he . . . happy?

Was it because he had finally been actually challenged? To have struggled so much for his victory after all his planning had been ruined, and to still triumph?

It was all so confusing for Aizen.

Belatedly he realized he had not even renewed the more intense healing of himself, and began using a more precise Kido with his sole, functioning hand. The others followed suit, albeit with far cruder skill. An illusion of himself bearing only a few scratches and burns to his clothes was still facing Gin, with Kaname playing along while he put his shoulder back together. Doing so while balancing on one foot made it trickier, yet he had the pain under control so at least he could maintain the charade.

 _I started on this path because I refused to allow anyone to stand above me. To be my better. Including the Soul King._

 _To break free of the limitations imposed upon me and all others._

 _Especially by that_ thing _._

 _That is all that matters._

 _. . . So why am I hesitating? What truly is there of value for me to keep the Espada, despite all the efforts I have put into increasing their strength? After all that I have . . . done._

 _No._

 _Kaname is right. I do not need them. Not at their level._

 _So why_ did _I spend so much time trying to make an army? Making them stronger?_

 _Why invest all that patience into Kurosaki Ichigo? Encouraging his growth?_ Why?!

Adrenaline still pumping through his veins, he began to fear —no, be terrified— that there was something about himself he was overlooking.

 _I can just go to Las Noches and finish healing myself with my supplies and compounds there, get my own Hogyoku, break this barrier around Urahara's, even just by using mine, and go to Karakura City. A hundred thousand souls will be nothing, and the Shinigami are in no condition to react. After I destroyed the 12th Division, they will not even be aware. With Kyoka Suigetsu, Urahara and his little followers will not even know I'm there until they're being consumed by the new Ouken_.

This was all true.

 ** _So why am I just standing here!?_**

 ** _Why do I want to go through that all over again!?_**

He cast his mind to Kyoka Suigetsu, yet she too was strangely silent. His own Zanpakuto.

 _. . . Evolution requires challenge. That is_ _the very same reason_ _why I permit Gin's existence. I must be challenged once more to ascend. That is all there is to it._

Except deep down he knew it was not true.

He snapped out of this introspection as he realized he had been silent for too long, and now Gin and Kaname were looking confused.

"We shall go to Las Noches and deal with the traitors first, and you two will finish healing," he managed. He need it as well, although there was no need to advertise it.

". . . As you command, Lord Aizen," said a slightly subdued Kaname.

"Let's go murder some Espada," Gin cheerfully said, his eternally sly grin as fresh as ever, and opened a Garganta straight to Las Noches.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Internally, Gin was planning an appropriately horrific demise for Tousen.

In fact, since he was feeling _so_ generous, he would invite the blind man's ex-Taichou to play. The one Tousen had literally backstabbed.

Today had probably been the second-worst day of Gin's life.

His hair had been half burnt off.

Poor Kira was hurt.

He had upset Rangiku.

Oh, and he had failed to kill Aizen.

For what may have been his last chance.

Frankly he wished to shake the hand of whoever had come up with that plan to leave Aizen vulnerable; it had very nearly been a masterstroke.

 _Soooo_ many times it seemed as if Kyoka Suigetsu had slipped and left its wielder vulnerable, only for one of the Gotei 13 to mess things up!

Of course Gin's hesitancy as to whether or not said moments of weakness were genuine or not had probably been equally costly. Kyoraku had not helped in that regard. Had to give the old man props for skill though, as infuriating as it had been.

Even now he knew that Aizen was more seriously wounded than he appeared, except the man was also much more on guard as well. Gin would honestly be surprised if he was even staring at the real thing right now.

His only real accomplishment was attacking Soi-Fong before any of the others, probably Tousen, did something more permanent to her.

Regardless, Aizen had finally demonstrated the true depths of his power, and it was quite obvious to everyone how absurd it was.

A power that Tousen had opened his fat mouth about, goading their 'Master' on, and the worst part was that he was _right_!

Almost single-handily Aizen had taken on the majority of the Gotei 13's military strength, and eliminated the majority of them, all despite being initially caught off-guard.

There was no one, and no army, who could stand before him.

No, Gin was on his own for this one.

No one else could kill Aizen except himself. The only question was _how!?_

 **—Seas of Souls—**

They appeared where they had originally intended to before everything had become messed up beyond recognition.

"Hmm," hummed Gin. "I don' seem ta recall that big crater before."

"That was part of the attack that struck us in the Negacion," observed Aizen. "We were only hit by the fringe of it."

Indeed, not only had the impressively large attack blasted a massive hole in the ground, it had turned the surrounding sand into glass.

"We could turn it inta a pool," offered Gin, trying to act as if he did not have a care in the world.

"Where is the army?" interjected Kaname.

The entirety of the Arrancar were supposed to meet them here, yet mostly there were just corpses. Including Hooler, which was unfortunate. _Although he was not as strong as his size suggested,_ knew Aizen. He spent another minute idly looking around and extending his senses, before deigning to notice the sole Espada waiting for them: Yammy Llargo.

His presence made Aizen readjust his plans as he saw his most powerful subordinate kneeling down on the ground below, obviously waiting for him. While the Cero Espada was loyal, he was also too dumb to truly think for himself (and incidentally his loyalty was assured because frankly he was too stupid to be treacherous), so the others must have left him here, hoping that his value would make their Lord and Master hesitate long enough for an explanation.

Hence why he decided to take the time to look around and take note of what had happened in his absence. In particular, given the hole in Szayelaporro Granz's palace, and the lack of other presences inside, it had been attacked. The scientist would be punished for that alone. How subtly was yet to be seen. He also sensed the rest of his Espada flirting around at high speeds. Despite their typical lack of coordination, he realized they were trying to search for something, or, given the state of his fortress, someone.

 _They were attacked, and decided that finding some evidence or prisoners was more important than waiting here and obeying my orders. Yet for someone to have pulled this off . . ._

Alright, he would give them a chance to explain before killing them all. One chance.

"Yammy," he pleasantly said to the heavily sweating individual. "How are you?"

"Uhm, not so good, Lord Aizen?"

"Oh my, that's distressing to hear. Did something happen?"

The large figure was practically squirming at the banal questions, especially given how obviously something was wrong. "Well, ur, y'see, we, uhm, had some intruders."

"You did?"

"Yes. They, well, robbed that freak Szayelaporro's lab of stuff. Everything really. And we couldn't stop them because we were loyally waiting here as ordered. Not that there was anything wrong with that of course!" he quickly added, still not daring to look up from the ground. "So when it looked like they were leaving, Grimmjow shot a Cero at them, and they shot back what Ulquiorra said was a Gran Ray Cero, and, well, killed Hooler and the Gillians that were bringing you, Lord Aizen, to Las Noches. To rule over us all." Yammy trailed off, clearly unsure whether or not it was best to continue.

"Gran Ray Cero? So they were Arrancar?" quizzed Aizen. Inwardly he fumed at how Yammy was trying to defend himself by insinuating that it was _his_ orders to the Arrancar that had led to this. Such insolence!

"We uhm, don't know. Some guys said they didn't feel like it, but Ulquiorra says they must've been hiding their power, and only an Espada-class Arrancar could have the strength and control to do that move." Yammy himself lacked either the self-discipline, or inclination to master Gran Ray Cero given his own mighty Ceros.

 _Unexpected_ , Aizen thought, a strange sensation going up his back. _Although it would also be possible for a Visored to do that. Still, the others had better have better intelligence for me than that!_

As if reading his Master's thoughts, Ulquiorra arrived right on cue.

The so-called 'Segunda' was the most reliable of Aizen's Espada, and he was well aware the morbid fellow was hiding his true power, Segunda Etapa, the Arrancar equivalent of Bankai. The only one to achieve it.

Of course after this little fiasco, it was very possible his value had been overestimated.

Well, cannon fodder against the Zero Division was still useful. Even if only to offend their sensibilities by having a Hollow in the palace of the Soul King.

"Y'know," Gin offered. "Maybe before we decide the fates of the Espada, we should all sit down fer a good cup of tea like usual?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"What do you mean there's no tea!?" hissed Aizen with a face of death.

Smoothly Ulquiorra popped out an eyeball and crushed it. The particles scattered through the air, and created a vision of what he had seen. 

Usually this would be the point where Gin made a joke to Tousen about what they could 'see,' but instead he just politely said, "It's the food storerooms, and they're all empty."

"All of them," repeated Tousen with surprise.

"Yep. An' now I want to kill whoever did this just fer wastin' my time! We spent years smugglin' food there without anyone noticin'!" _We'll have ta steal some more_ , Gin knew. _Especially since Aizen considers cannibalization ta be 'uncivilized.'_

The Seireitei was the only place you could grow Reishi enriched food after all. Which was necessary for both the Shinigami and Arrancar, although the latter usually only ate it begrudgingly.

"Aaaaand now the tea room."

"We had a thousand years' worth in there. Literally."

"Yep," Gin echoed with a strained tone. Oh how he ached to make some smart-aleck comment. Alas he was not ready to die just yet.

Aizen's appearance was perfectly calm, except Gin knew that this was likely still an illusion, and given the growing sweat on Tousen's forehead —the only one here immune to Kyoka Suigetsu's power— he had a pretty good idea what the reality was like.

That tea had been a rare blend that Aizen had dubbed his 'only vice,' and had stolen the entire stockpile to enjoy for his next millennia of godhood. The plan being for subsequent years he would enjoy newer, ever better blends.

Unfortunately, they had failed to snatch any of the seeds, and the creator had gotten so drunk in despair he had destroyed both them and his notes, and gone to pick a fight with the 11th Division.

It had ended predictably, with Tousen being sent to discretely kill the offenders.

"What about surveillance?" he asked to be helpful.

"As near as we can tell, they uncovered Szayelaporro's own recording devices, and either destroyed or stole them all," confessed Ulquiorra. "However, that also led them to discover the main ones for Las Noches, and managed to somehow sabotage that as well. There are no viable recordings to be found, nor any living eyewitnesses."

 _Whelp, Szayelaporro just bumped himself ta the top of the 'demonstration' list. Especially since it was likely 'is own backdoor programs that made it possible. I'd feel sad, if not fer 'ow much 'e's like Kurotsuchi_.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Szayelaporro could only shake with rage as he looked at the gutted room that had once held his research specimens: irreplaceable treasures that he had travelled across Hueco Mundo to find. Harvesting them for their unique abilities.

All gone.

Oh, he would find who was responsible for this. They could be sure of _that!_

With some trepidation, he had kept quiet about how he had recognized a particular two of them. He was so far into disgrace right now that no one would listen to him anyways. No, he would keep quiet, if only to ensure that he was the one who found them, _vivisected_ them, and brought them still alive to be dropped at the feet of Lord Aizen!

 _Vengeance_ , he promised himself.

Now he just had to survive his Master's wrath long enough to do so.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

By this point, the rest of the Espada, minus Szayelaporro who was either sulking in his palace or wisely keeping his distance, had returned.

"Report," Aizen cordially said, except with a touch of venom that they all heard.

Coughing into his fist, Luppi weakly said, "Your personal library has been stolen, Lord Aizen."

Well, he had memorized those long ago, keeping them out of sentiment for such engrossing reads. It was still puzzling.

"The medical lab has been emptied," said Aaroniero.

Given how little Aizen cared for their lives, no real loss there. His personal infirmary's barriers would have kept them out.

"One of the clothes depots was ransacked," Dordoni formally reported. "They cleaned it out too."

"Well then, I look forward to hearing your timely report on what you _do_ know," Aizen pleasantly said, before turning and leaving. That would unnerve them all, and he could trust Gin to manage things while he handled his own affairs in the meantime. His foot was still not fully healed for one.

Heh, Gin. His most trustworthy and dependable servant, as well as the only one he was ever expecting to be moderately successful at betraying him. It was dualities like that which made life worth living. Why, it was a testament to Kyoraku's prowess that he kept Gin too busy to try and backstab his 'master' during their withdrawal.

In a flicker of Shunpo, Aizen slowly walked down the hallway to his private quarters, disregarding the lingering pain from burnt flesh.

Any sensation of cravings for his personal tea were obviously just his imagination.

The very pain would help him concentrate upon this new development. And what a _fascinating_ one as well!

 _A single raiding party exposing a moment of weakness that I had overlooked_ , mused Aizen. _Neatly leaving me at the mercy of the Seireitei. While they underestimated me, it was still a close thing._

 _Yet why the fixation on Szayelaporro's lab? To misdirect us? To hide how there was one particular thing there that they so desired?_

While it was possible Szayelaporro had made some sort of 'impossible' discovery, it was unlikely. Admittedly brilliant by the standards of those so-called 'scientists' who shackled themselves with morality, once freed from the confines of living amongst sand dunes, the Septima Espada had adapted to modern science with surprising speed. Instead of morality however, it was arrogance that blinded him to his true potential. Moreover, Aizen always kept a careful eye on what he was doing, and for the life of him he could not conceive of anything that would be worth such a brazen raid.

 _Especially since it would require in-depth knowledge of Las Noches, which is impossible. Hmm, perhaps Nelliel and her Fraccion were recruited?_

 _Possible, but not enough to explain everything. Including why the cleaned out all the storerooms like that. There is something I'm overlooking._

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like whoever had raided his palace had done so to gather the resources for their own fortress. Taking supplies and recreational aids. Enough to provide for a small army even. Most curious.

According to his Espada, their Pesquisa said the intruders were Hollows, possibly all Arrancar. Except their behaviour was highly out of character for them. Plus, at least one of them had proven themselves to be on the same level as either an Espada or Taichou.

Most fascinating of all, was how the timing of the raid was so perfect that he refused to believe it was mere dumb luck.

 _A potential rival?_ he wondered, unaware of how his lips quirked up in a grin. _Perhaps_ —

All other thoughts were caught off as he opened the doors to his personal quarters —Loly and Menoly were wisely absent— and immediately caught sight of the hole in his floor.

The safe he stored his own personal Hogyoku in, was torn open, and empty.

Las Noches trembled.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

As one, all the Espada and Tousen turned to Gin.

"Ah, yer leaven' it to me, huh?" he grinned, while inside he desperately wanted to kill them all.

Aizen prided himself with his control, either of himself or others. Even in the face of a day like this. For him to now slip like that to the extent he made a place as large as the Seireitei shake _with just his Reiatsu?_

Not good. Not good at all.

Along with Tousen's oh-so _welcome_ pep talk, who knew what the man's emotional state was in!?

Of course, he was still Aizen's _loyal right-hand man_ , so who better to go see what was wrong?

With a quick Shunpo he reached the tower in question, and then continued at an even pace. No need to startle anyone after all. Plus it let him procrastinate as he furiously tried to figure out what to do.

 _My Bankai's still active, 'cept I can't tell yet if I should use her or not. While he's rattled right now, he'll also be expectin' me._

With those thoughts in mind as he schemed out plan and counter-plan –most of which were futile in the face of such power—he entered the room.

Kyoka Suigetsu was firmly held in Aizen's hand, naked blade glittering malevolently.

Without missing a beat, Gin aped Yammy and dropped to his knee. Something he had never done before in his life, hoping that the novelty of it would make the egomaniac curious enough to spare him.

.

.

.

The silence was oppressive.

A cheap trick to establish authority, or was Aizen truly that distracted?

With the briefest glimpse he had gotten, it seemed as if the traitorous ex-Taichou had been fixated on something on the ground.

"Gin," flat and sharp as a Zanpakutou.

"Aizen-taichou."

"Rise, and tell me what you make of this."

With an effort Gin forced down his heartbeat, and stepped forward to see what the situation was. He knew that his next words had better be some of the best he had ever used in his life.

There was a hole in the ground, leaking Reiryoku, the majority of which was Aizen's, and someone else's. Obviously it had been broken open, and within was an empty space. Perfect to hold something . . . small.

Oh.

My.

"Your Hogyoku," he said, smile slipping away in shock and eyelids cracking open.

 _Rangiku's_ Hogyoku.

Supposedly incomplete, it had still been sufficient enough to begin the creation of Arrancar for the army, creating ones far more powerful than the 'natural' variety. Urahara's one was needed to create a single, completed version, possessing inconceivable power.

Gin had always assumed that Aizen kept his Hogyoku on himself, except now he realized the flaw in that. Everyone would assume so, meaning that Urahara Kisuke would too. Would try and scheme a way to steal it. Moreover, while he had never held it himself, the foxlike-man had still faintly sensed something 'off' about it. Carrying that in the presence of the older Taichou, particularly the Soutaichou, would have been just asking for trouble.

Ergo, it needed to be hidden somewhere.

So Aizen had forged a massive fortress, staffed it with an army of powerful beings conditioned through various means into absolute loyalty, and then hidden it. Doubtless it was invisible to anyone who had seen his Shikai, with every barrier he had ever heard of either protecting or hiding it.

And someone had apparently literally torn right through it all.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

In the void between worlds, the little purple ball in question finished its work, altering its new owner and his companions. . .

Because it had been literally snacked upon by Monkey D Luffy, he was unable to sense what was happening as his senses were tuned outwards, not inwards. As for the rest of those who might have detected anything amiss, they were too distracted by anticipation as they travelled.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Obviously," said Aizen with a condescending tone. A rather familiar one.

If next thing that came out of Gin's mouth was not particularly intelligent, then he was going either become an object lesson, or a dead man. Or both.

 _Wait, intelligent . . ._

Desperately he threw together a half-baked strategy that had the best chance of killing Aizen and helping Rangiku.

All within the span of the second between Aizen's statement, and him reflexively opening his mouth.

"Well then it's a good thing yah didn't kill of the Espada since we'll need them ta find this new party."

He barely got that all out with one breathe, and dared not look at the man he so desperately wanted to kill.

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

Still untouched.

"We'll have ta start search parties immediately, Aizen-taichou, since it doesn't seem like Urahara Kisuke or Hirako Shinji's work."

Still silence and no agonizing pain.

Shrugging with (false) nonchalance, he continued. "Yeah, sure, it was a perfect raid. But how're they ta know we'd be at our most vulnerable in terms of timin' an' security? If either of 'em had, it would have been a lot better. If it was the Visoreds, they'd would've tried ta kill yah. Or us never knowin' they was here if it were Urahara. In an' out with yours substituted with a booby-trapped fake. An' he wouldn' have had ta rely upon such a clumsy plan like sending in those poor Ryoka kids ta get _his_ Hogyoku back.

"So, we know it wasn' either of those groups, which means it was someone else."

"Yes," mused Aizen, once more the smooth puppet-master. "Urahara didn't even give the Ryoka his special cloaks to conceal themselves. While he might be interested in the scientific accomplishments of others, he would never risk the mission for such relative trivialities like those. Or books and clothes. So who could it be then?"

 _Doesn' matter_ , Gin thought, while cupping his chin as if trying to figure out who was responsible. _Just so long as yah_ don' _go after Kisuke or Soul Society. That yah_ don' _figure out who has it._ _B_ _uys me time for them to_ _recover,_ _and then distract yah so I can find my openin'._

 _Especially since whoever did this is likely a Vasto Lorde Arrancar who's not affected by your Shikai, makin' it even better._

 _Above all else though, I need your current attitude ta ease so yah go back ta your usual complacency._

 _And isn'_ that _**just a terrifyin' thought!**_

"Well, we can always kill 'em and work out the details later," he offered.

"Indeed," Aizen finally and genially said. "Begin forming search parties." His eyes hardened to something dark and ugly. "They are to burn whatever or whoever gets in their way of finding my Hogyoku."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **This is for everyone who was put off by Aizen's needlessly convoluted plans.**

 **Right here we see an Aizen who was forced to display to not only the world, but himself, just how terrifyingly strong he really is. On a very much related note, I should tell you:**

 **If Luffy fought either Yamamoto or Aizen, with both Soul Reapers going all out, Luffy would have a 20% chance of winning. This is not a story where Luffy's going to be trouncing everybody with ease. Even the fire resistance mentioned in chapter 2 is only** _ **resistance**_ **. Yamamoto's Bankai trumps it by a far margin. That said,** _ **their**_ **odds of winning would be only 30% unless they pulled out their respective Bankai, since Luffy is indeed abnormally powerful in his own right. Moreover, the sheer act of pushing them to that extent is a feat no Hollow or Shinigami ever managed in canon.**

 **.**

 **Want to know something scary about Yamamoto? According to the wiki, his strength is his weakest stat. Now stop to reflect upon all the feats of physical strength he displayed . . . :-O**

 **.**

 **I confess I seriously wish I could have written that conversation between Aizen, Gin, and Tousen to be like the one in chapter 18 of "Uninvited Guests," by Moczo. My absolutely favourite fic period.**

 **.**

 **I strongly recommend "You Have But Two Choices," by LordVishnu, which was very helpful in writing all of this.**

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 **Next Chapter: "Home, Sweet Home"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	5. Home, Sweet Home

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out!

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For those of you who prefer to read in Spanish, Pandaman300 has been absolutely amazing and has become. Go to Wattapad under 'Cheamer' to find it!

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

TheB

Yes, Orihime is a bit of a wrench in Aizen's plans for once. _If_ she figures out how to use her powers right of course. But yeah, dude's a monster and just showed it.

LOL yes, even the kitchen sink. Because I could not resist.

Well if Aizen _does_ manage to follow Luffy's line of thought (or what can be found), he will either a) become a cheery, (relatively) harmless guy with a thing for meat, or b) _really_ go off the deep end! X-P

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

HUNTER2002

Yes, I agree that it is sad about the families left behind. Unfortunately I feel that if any more One Piece characters come through they will dominate the story.

LOL no tea left at all!

Luck is a superpower in its own right ;-)

Always happy to reply to those who take the time to leave me a comment :-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Matt

I chose the character list for the story summary carefully; the Straw Hats are main characters indeed, but not the only ones. In fact, there are quite a few characters that I feel did not get the love (or comeuppance) they deserved in canon. So this will not be the last no-Straw Hat chapter.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Roberto Pelotudo

Gracias, me alegra oír que hice bien a los personajes. Y sí, me resulta molesto cuando los escritores dicen que alguien es un genio sin hacer nada para MOSTRAR cómo logran esquemas "imposibles".

Aquí está el capítulo más reciente, ¡y espero que valga la pena! ¡Estoy deseando escuchar tus nuevos pensamientos! :-D

Gracias por su Revisión y Apoyo! :-D

.

musizlover2008

LOL yes definite similarities. Seems to be a real thing in manga for a bloodthirsty, one-eyed swordsman who is also good with kids.

Yeah, Kurotsuchi Mayuri is a creepy, evil guy. It really bugs me that Kubo let him get away with it all. Yeah, Sanji and Chopper would be the worst for Mayuri to meet in a dark alley (after Uryuu), but none of the rest of the Straw Hats would be amused either.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 5: Home, Sweet Home

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 _Previously:_

 _The Straw Hats finished their successful raid of Las Noches, and made their escape. However, just before entering the portal to the Living World, which they learnt about from records in the palace, Luffy swallowed the Aizen's personal Hogyoku. During the transit into the Garganta, the Hogyoku activated . . ._

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With a whoop of joy, Kurosaki Karin exchanged another double high-five with Ururu, while Jinta pumped his fist in the background. "Another Hollow destroyed!" they cheered.

The Karakura Superheroes had triumphed once more!

"BOHAHAHAHA!" went their boisterous and tackily dressed leader, Don Kanonji. His current flashy outfit was a long red coat, with golden tassels, and a crown-like hat. Honestly, Karin did not fully get, or rather believe, everything he said, but she still appreciated him bringing her into this life. What had first sounded like inane ramblings now helped answer several questions of hers. Particularly putting a name to what Ichigo had become as he ran around the city in black: a Shinigami. That he had been the main person in town fighting 'Evil Spirits' who were 'corrupted souls,' until he had to leave to handle something he did not tell them about.

 _Although I'm kind of insulted he expected us to be fooled by whoever he left in his body. Sure, Goat-Face doesn't suspect a thing, but this guy in nii-san's body doesn't even act like him! It's just as ridiculous as the idea that nii-san is Kanonji's apprentice!_

"Yes indeed!" Kanonji went on with his usual flamboyance. "Once more this brave city is safe from these monsters!"

"This is awesome!" declared Jinta, hefting his bat, while Ururu retrieved her shoulder-gun-bazooka-thingy. Truthfully, Karin still did not know much about them, not that she had pried into their personal lives, yet they were the ones to really bring the muscle to taking down 'Hollows.' So far the most she could do in a fight was kick a soccer ball hard enough to stun them. While Kanonji did have some sort of energy attack that was pretty powerful, it was also pretty slow. _Hmm, but I think it's getting a little faster the more he uses it._

Ah well.

Something tickled her spine, and as she turned her head—

—The air shuddered and the ground shook until Karin realized it was her knees. Sweat broke out upon her forehead, and dizzily she saw most of the others were the same.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

A few minute earlier

For all their initial enthusiasm, the Straw Hat Pirates and their friends were definitely uncomfortable with how they were travelling.

A Garganta was a special, spiritual pathway between worlds. The more refined version they had managed to create was technically defined as a 'Descorrer.'

All these Arrancar cared about was that they were running on a glowing pathway of Starrk's spiritual energy, through a mass of swirling darkness. Endless darkness everywhere they looked. They had never imagined that the sense of emptiness between worlds could be worse than the desert they had left behind.

Despite this crushing sensation, they continued forward on instinct as something deep within all of them was familiar with what they were attempting. Moreover, they had hazy memories from the Hollows they had consumed in the past, many of whom had been here before. It was just that most of their species did not have the power or control to create their own pathways like a Descorrer, and relied upon naturally occurring portals.

Instinct, and the courage and charisma of Monkey Luffy as he led them forward. Eyes narrowed in concentration as he followed his intuition. Finding the way.

They all felt the moment at the same time, _knowing_ they had arrived. His arm blurred as he gathered Reiryoku to his fingertips, and brought them down on a piece of space before them that seemed no different than before, and tore open a new gateway through reality.

Emerging into a brand new world.

Their dramatic exit of Las Noches was somewhat tainted by their chaotic arrival in the World of the Living, as they suddenly found themselves trying to juggle a massive pile of bags and crates with limited arms. Especially since they had come out dozens of meters above the ground . . .

"Aaaaaah!"

"Whoah!"

"Use Reishi to stabilize yourself! Under your feet! You know how to do this!"

"Catch the bags!"

"That one's getting awa—oh, never, mind. Thanks Luffy."

"Shishishishi! No problem!"

"Get the others you idiots!"

Desperately Zoro started throwing stuff higher up in the air so he could grab other things from falling and handle the rising ones later when they came back down. Meanwhile, the larger individuals like Franky, Jinbe, and Brook tried to make a sort of pyramid with them holding together a bottom foundation of stuff packed together that could catch other stuff on top.

After much jostling, they finally managed to right themselves, with Usopp cleverly digging out some spare wires from a bag he was holding, to help tie them all together into one mass. Zoro, Sanji, and Franky were holding onto the main weight without much difficulty.

Stopping to take a quick breath of relief as they stood mid-air, they all suddenly realized how much . . . easier that had been. That they had reacted faster and with greater strength than expected.

"Hmm, strange."

Everyone glanced at Halibel, who was intently studying her hand as if she had never seen it before. "With the low Reishi in the air," she elaborated, "you'd think we'd be weaker here. Instead, I've never felt stronger."

Now the Arrancar paused to fully re-assess themselves, and realized to their surprise she was right.

"It's our transformation from removing our masks," and now it was lazy Starrk of all people who spoke up. His eyes shining with interest. "It's complete somehow."

Surprisingly –even though it should not be at this point— it was Luffy who first caught on to what he meant. "Oh, hey, yeah! You're right!" Beaming, he excitedly waved his arms. "When we first took our masks off, it always felt to me like our new bodies weren't as done as they could've been. 'Cept now they are!"

"And you never thought to mention this?" deadpanned Nami with a twitching eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't see what we could've done about it. But somehow it finished when we came here!"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Its job complete, the Hogyoku within Luffy returned to its slumber. Now all of the Hollows were perfect Arrancar, just like the rest of Aizen's forces.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

With a sigh, Nami shook her head. Then she took another look at the rest of the Straw Hats with a slight narrowing of her brow, before turning to one in particular. "Hey, Starrk. Could you make another, different katana?"

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, before sighing as he knew complying was less stressful than questioning her. With a flick of his wrist, he was holding a new, sheathed blade in his hand, with the guard being a rounder design than his own preference. This casual display was one of the many reasons Nami was glad he was on their side. She suspected that not even Starrk himself truly knew the depths of his power. Possibly the same for Luffy as well.

"Perfect," she grinned, before taking the blade and passed it to Luffy. "You don't have a normal Zanpakuto, so it's for the best if you pretend to have one. Just in case."

(Frankly she was embarrassed that she had not thought of this sooner. Not that she would ever admit to such.)

(When in new circumstances with potential enemies, it was best to not draw attention to any irregularities. Besides, it only felt natural to her to hide how dangerous they were; she even kept her own Zanpakuto hidden. In that same light, she now regretted they had not managed to train up Mila Rose, Sung-Sun, and Apacci more in how to hide their Reiatsu better.)

Her Senchou still looked a little confused, until he simply grinned and thrust it into his belt. Nami had an amused feeling he would be trying to fight with it, much to the aggravation of both Zoro and Mila Rose.

With that out of the way, they all resumed staring at the World of the Living.

It was kind of a downer.

Alright, sure, no endless desert of white sand as far as the eye could see. But it was kind of lumpy, and dark, and, well, just sort of weird.

"Huh, that's pretty cool!"

Perplexed, they all turned to see that Luffy was looking _behind_ them, and when they turned around all their jaws dropped.

A city unfolded before their eyes.

(It helped to not be looking the wrong way at its outskirts, which were basically rocky land.)

Tall buildings that while pigmies before Las Noches, still towered above what they were used too, and thrumming with lights and life. So many lights. Some of them were even zipping by at fast speeds in straight lines!

(Later they would learn those were cars.)

(If Humanity should survive the following year, they should be eternally grateful that Luffy overlooked them as too slow to be fun, without ever trying driving one.)

The glow of it all lit up the night sky in a way that they could hardly imagine. Craning their heads up, they also saw a _full_ moon, along with pinpricks of light too!

"Stars," whispered Nami in a hushed voice.

"This, this, what is all this!?" gushed Apacci, her heterochromatic eyes almost boggling out.

The width of Luffy's smile was in danger of breaking his already impressive record. "Our new home."

He took a deep breath, and Nami and the rest followed suit. There was a bit of a tang to it, yet along with so many other flavours, making it an incredible sensation after the sterile world they had just left.

One they would never return to. _Ever_.

"So which way should we go first?" asked Luffy.

Everyone paused, as there seemed to be no criteria to judge by in this strange, strange world.

"Obviously thataway!" declared Apacci, pointing right in front of them.

"Hmph, that way looks more interesting," argued Mila Rose, jutting her thumb towards a part of city that was brighter with lights.

"A quieter setting would be more appropriate for setting down our supplies," broke in Sung-Sun, gesturing with her sleeve towards a darker area.

For all that she was an adoptive big sister to them, Nami sighed as she knew they were in for a long argument before Halibel –her girls, her responsibility—chose to intervene.

Besides, she had other concerns.

Closing her eyes, she drank in the sensation of the wind on her face, feeling how moist the air was to Hueco Mundo, the subtleties of the temperature, and so much more of something that was all-encompassing of this world:

The weather.

Opening her lids, Nami felt even more complete than just related to her becoming a full Arrancar. Ever since she had first started regaining her memories, she knew she was missing something while wandering the endless desert that she now wondered was meant to crush whatever hope you had left. All there had been there was sharp wind and sand.

Here . . . there was symphony of sounds, scents, touches and tastes, all of singing of the majesty that nature would play across the globe!

A strength that had never known release under the endless half-moon now crackled to life, as fire and joy lit up her eyes.

Whatever the others might say, here she knew they would find wonders beyond wonders, and treasure beyond price.

 _Almost as great as Nakama even!_ _'Almost,' being the key word._

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Urahara Shōten

Urahara Kisuke's alarms went off with a code of precise beeps and whistles so that he already knew the gist even before the scientist-assassin brought up his monitors.

Hollows in Karakura Town.

Worse, Arrancar.

Video images popped up on screen, along with readings on them, and his bones chilled with horror he had not felt in a century. None of these contingency plans had truly accounted for this possibility.

For centuries the upper echelons of Soul Society had known of Arrancar, Hollows who had removed their masks to also gain the powers of a Shinigami. Not that these unnatural and obscene hubrids had ever been a serious threat, given how few of them there were, and that they rarely ever fully developed their powers before some other Hollow ate them, or a well-coordinated squad purified them.

As the former Taichou of the 12th Division, and ex-Director of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Kisuke had studied up on them as best as he could before his involuntary exile. Once Aizen Sosuke had framed him, and shown an interest in destroying the boundaries between both Shinigami and Hollows in the name of greater power, Kisuke's investigations had intensified. Therefore he was well aware that all previous attempts by Hollows to become members of that hybrid race had been both relatively crude, and failing to live up to their theoretical potential.

The last few decades there had been a gradual upswing in the quality of the Arrancar encountered by the Gotei 13 (including by one Shiba Isshin-taichou), but their own investigations had found nothing suspicious. Especially since the hybrids' powers had consistently remained stuck at about the same level. Privately, Kisuke was strongly confident those Arrancar had been the results of Aizen's own experiments, and he had been releasing those Hollows as disposable test subjects for real-life combat against the Shinigami. Except of course the madman would hardly have held back his more impressive creations, so as to hide what they were truly capable of.

Regardless, the fact remained that the average Hollow losing their mask should be no real threat to Soul Society.

 _These_ Arrancar were all Menos Grande.

Worse, from their spiritual pressure, density, and stability, they were a mixture of both Shinigami and Hollow. Fully developed like no Arrancar on record had ever possessed up to this point.

While wearing white outfits, the antitheses to the Shinigami's black. That was a message in itself.

Even more ominously was the almost comically large collection of bags and boxes the group was organizing into a manageable mass. Clearly they were here in preparation for something big.

"Aizen's making his move," he whispered to his approaching long-time friend, and the former ex-Taichou of the Kido Corps, Tsukabishi Tessai.

"I thought it was too soon," rumbled the large, muscular man. They had all agreed that even if Yoruichi and the kids failed, they would have weeks, or even months, before Aizen was ready. And for such a force to hit Karakura now while it was so vulnerable . . .

"Indeed, but only the Hogyoku could be responsible for this transformation. He must have moved up the date of Rukia's execution and retrieved it, and somehow unlocked its power already. Yoruichi must have—wait." Kisuke cut himself off as he adjusted his instruments, and based upon the readings, concluded that the three of them were upper-level Adjuchas. Each easily on par with a Fukutaichou. Indeed, with his own senses he could tell that it was their personal Reiatsu that was blanketing the city.

In addition, a child-like Hollow was leaking Reishi on par with a Taichou, except the loss was so unstable the Hollow had barely any for itself, leaving it as weak as a regular Hollow. _The whole town is getting bathed in that Reishi though. Maybe a way of nourishing the rest of the pack while away from Hueco Mundo?_

A little more fine-tuning, and he confirmed that the rest of them were either weaker Adjuchas, Gillians, or made from lessor Hollows. Some of them also seemed to be more advanced versions of Hollows Kisuke had identified as some of Aizen's experimental models. Two of the females and one of the men were only barely detectable to his most sensitive and advanced instruments, which was an ability displayed by serval variants he knew the madman had engineered before. Although what little of the signature he could detect from the man with brown hair, was surprisingly identical to another child-like Hollow.

It was also interesting to note how with only two exceptions, the invaders all looked clearly human. Of course, those two irregularities were also registering as Arrancar, despite looking like a stag beetle and a walking tiki mask. Although now his computers were bringing up additional data sensor on the duo, displaying some unusual readings he could not make heads or tails of. Given how they seemed to be utterly befuddled and panicking, it was doubtful they had been a successful test trial for Aizen. Probably sent here as cannon fodder.

 _Is it possible that the ones in charge of this advance squad are hiding their power?_ He gave it a second's thought before dismissing it. _The nature of Hollows is to flaunt their strength, especially during those rare times they manage to form any semblance of a pack. Even the_ _ones suppressing their Reiatsu so well are_ _being too passive, showing no signs of authority. Only that_ _Fukutaichou-class_ _trio are_ _acting aggressive_ _,_ and _they're the ones broadcasting how strong they are._

As it was, that strength they were displaying was so beyond what this town, never mind the Living World, was used to, that he knew everyone spiritually sensitive in town would be filled with dread. The sensation of a predator leering over their shoulder from behind, no matter where they turned.

"Those must be the leaders," he said as he pointed them out to Tessai.

His eyes narrowed further at the raven-haired one hiding her mouth with one long sleeve, the busty one with messy brown hair, and the blue haired girl with a horn on her head. All three were clearly arguing over which way to go, while the rest were quietly waiting for a final decision.

"And with a force this size, they must be pretty important to Aizen." _Especially since I doubt he'd tolerate their obvious squabbling otherwise_.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Grimacing, Starrk wiggled a finger in his ear at the ongoing catfight over which direction the whole pack would head in to set up camp. As much as he loved his new life, sometimes it could get a bit much.

Never enough to regret it of course.

Never.

In many ways it had been worth the wait just to have been found by someone like Luffy.

Truthfully, while being with people was what he and Lilynette wanted more than anything, neither of them had had the slightest idea of _how_ to be with others. How to interact. What to say. What to do.

Luffy did not care.

He just cheerfully dragged them along. Except he always seemed to know when to push and when to step back. Letting Starrk get a nap whenever he started to feel overwhelmed, or allowing Lilynette to get her own (loud) opinion in on some matter or other. She of course had been the quickest to adapt, refusing to let herself be cowed by this strange new (perfect) life.

The other Straw Hats had been just as fantastic. Even just resting beside Zoro, knowing someone was there beside him, was sometimes all Starrk needed to get through the day at times. Or Robin would join him when he was sitting a little ways apart from the group, with Starrk coming to realize that sometimes she was a bit of a loner as well. The two of them had pleasant talks too, as both of them were highly intelligent individuals with little in the empty desert to actually stimulate their brains. That was actually part of why he had gotten into the habit of napping, since if there was nothing available really for his mind to focus on, why bother being awake?

Overall, for a man who loved to sleep so much, and thus not thinking on things –but yeah he usually really _was_ just that sleepy— it was surprising how _relaxed_ he could feel even while awake and active among the Straw Hats. As if some weight had been removed from his shoulders, as he drank in all the little gestures, comments, and looks that let him know he _belonged_.

A smile quirked at Starrk's lips, only to realize he had gotten distracted.

"Shut up! I'll lead!" loudly declared Lilynette, puffing out her (non-existent) chest.

He sighed, knowing this would just enflame matters further.

"What!? Why'd we listen to some kid!?"

"Beat it shrimp!"

Sung-Sun said nothing, while, forehead vein throbbing, Lilynette started screeching more to assert her 'authority.' Everyone else was either enjoying the show, or just watched with resignation. They knew Halibel preferred for her 'daughters' to work these things out themselves. In truth, it was this sort of situation that only proved to Starrk how fortunate he was to have fallen in with such 'aberrant' Hollows. With 'regular' Hollows, either whatever respect Lilynette held would be from being associated with him and his own strength, or the more dangerous ladies would have lashed out at her to re-assert their own status. Or because someone as weak as her should be killed for simply being mouthy. Instead, one's power mattered little in this group.

Truthfully, a part of Starrk suspected that his full potential might even surpass that of Zoro or Luffy. And no one cared. Because each and every one of them would do all they could to protect the others.

For Hollows, it was as surreal as it was a relief.

Luffy was the Senchou because he was the one to bind them all together. Along with his own strange branch of wisdom.

Right now though, he was merely giggling at the sight of the ladies shrilly going at one another—if never physically, not even Zoro or Sanji were allowed that. With their predatory instincts, things could escalate too quickly and lethally if single drop of blood was spilled.

Still, after another minute Luffy seemed to be actually considering the issue. "We'll go towards the quieter place to find somewhere to safely leave all our stuff, and to come back to," he finally said, cutting through the ongoing argument. "We'll just get there by cutting through a bunch of the town on the way! Lilynette, you're up front!"

The four girls hesitated, trying to figure out who had 'won,' only for a relieved Usopp to declare, "Well done ladies! That's helping our Senchou out!" While obvious to Starrk his long-nosed friend was trying diffuse any lingering tension, the trio seemed to buy it.

"You did it!" cheered Chopper, which flustered Apacci, only for Halibel to approach her daughters and give a little nod, before withdrawing to be by the hanging pile of supplies to act as a guard. The three girls quickly followed their 'mom.' Luffy joined Lilynette so they could see everything first.

"Hey!"

"Wah!"

"Huh!?"

"What're—!"

Turning, Starrk caught the leaping, squirming bundle that was Nel. Glancing back, he could see that she had evidently leapt from Zoro's shoulders to jump onto Nami, then Chopper, Usopp, and finally Sanji before being caught as she made her way over. "Take me tah Luffy," she imperiously commanded. Raising an eyebrow, the Vasto Lorde decided it was much less effort to do as she asked, and obediently tossed her overhand to their leader.

"Whaaaaaaaa!"

Beaming, Luffy caught Nel, and put her on his back. "Hold tight!" he cheered.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Squealing with delight, Nel held on as Luffy carried her down to look at the city.

Soon she was gaping in wonderment, as she tried to process how strange it all was. All she had ever known was endless desert of Hueco Mundo, alone with her two brothers and their pet. Here there were _so many people_! Just moving about without a care and doing so many strange things!

A sound caught her attention, and she looked to see Lilynette glaring at her. It took Nel a moment to realize the truth: she was jealous! Leering, Nel freed one hand to stroke her chin knowingly.

The taller girl gasped before turning up the heat of her expression—

—and ran into a building because she was not looking where she was going.

A moment later she passed straight through it, looking all confused. "Whuh!? What was that!?"

"Luffy, thhe wen' through the wall!"

"I know! That's cool!"

On that note, Luffy started flying straight through buildings as well, as did everyone else, being amazed at all the sights to see inside as Humans went about doing whatever.

Watching bright, moving screens, including fiddling with devices connected to said screens, featured prominently.

"It must be because we're still made of spiritual particles," mused Franky. "We're out of sync with whatever the Living World's made up of, so we can go straight through it." Experimentally he tried pushing some bags through the wall, and discovered that the Garganta converter had worked perfectly. While the Hollows remained made of Reishi, what they had brought with them had become composed of local materials. "Interesting," he grinned, stroking his chin.

It came to an abrupt stop when they came upon a couple . . . wrestling. Naked. Against the walls, and atop a table.

Surprisingly it was Sanji who was the first to run out of the place, wanting to respect the woman's privacy.

"Right," he panted as everyone else caught up with him. "Let's not do that again."

"What da yah mean?" asked a confused Nel.

"Never you mind," Sanji said, fingers twitching. Then something caught his eye.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

It had been a long, loooong day at the office, and Kamiya Susumu just wanted to relax for a moment before heading out to catch the late night bus home. He had worked triple-overtime to get all that paperwork done for the big deal.

Sighing in relief, he lit up his cigarette—

—only for it to be snatched out his hand.

Looking around in shock, he saw no one nearby. Some sixth sense made him glance up . . . to see it hanging mid-air, while puffs of smoke seemed to come from nowhere. With another wisp trailing, the bright, red dot zipped out of sight. Outright gaping, Susumu caught something else from the corner of his eye, and saw what looked like bags and boxes flying downtown, twenty meters in the air.

"What?" he whimpered.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Nel was star struck.

This place was so cooooooool compared to that dingy old desert!

Not only were there so many new people to play with, the bright lights were a form of games, and she could fly through walls! Except she was no longer allowed to go through walls! Pooie! Oh well, Nel knew she would have lots of fun still!

"Seeing all these enchanting wonders makes my heart stop!" cried out Brook. "Oh wait, I don't have a heart! Yo ho ho ho~!"

Giggling, she went, "Yo yo ho ho ho!" too.

She readjusted her grip on Luffy. He was lots of fun to be with, although Zoro was plenty fun too. Except Zoro was carrying all that stuff, so she went with her other favourite new playmate. It was just that Luffy was the first one to play games with her, and invite her to come along with him and his friends. Chopper and Lilynette were fun too of course. Zoro still might be cooler though. Hmm, had she made him an official brother yet?

In fact . . .

Locking her legs around Luffy's neck, she waved her arms and yelped, "Nel'th makin' you all her brotherth and thisterth! Yay! Whoop!"

The world spinning around, she found herself a grinning Luffy. "Awesome! That means we're nakama and family! Neat, huh?"

"Yeah!" she giggled. A thought occurred to her, and she got serious. "Brother Luffy, you thaid thith plathe ith our new 'ome?"

"Uh huh."

"Forever an' ever? We're jutht gonna thtay righth here?"

Now he laughed. "Of course not! I don't mean this city, I mean the whole Living World is our home now! We can spend ages exploring it!" Becoming more serious, he jabbed his chin down at the people below. "Look at them all, running about all over the place. I bet they keep doing so many fun things and making new ones too. Everything will keep changing around us, so there will be so much new stuff to discover! Won't that be great!?"

" _Yeah!_ " she cheered even louder than before, clapping her hands.

"Huh." They glanced back at Jinbe who was looking at a particular sign. "Apparently this place we're in is called 'Karakura Town.'"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Urahara Shōten

Carefully Kisuke considered his options. While as was his norm he had laid down thousands of plans and contingencies before Yoruichi had departed to the Seireitei, and had already devised thousands of new ones based upon this change in events, he suspected that the best ones were those that first involved waiting a little longer.

Even for him, to attack such a large force —which had doubtlessly been forewarned about him— was rash.

 _So I will need Hirako Shinji and the rest to take action. Yet they do not really care for Humans._

 _No, best to leave it for the Seireitei. Such a large and powerful force of Arrancar will have the Soutaichou send in the Taichou to handle it. Hmm, that must be one of Aizen's objectives, drawing away the Gotei 13 so he can make his move unopposed. Of course, that will also make it easier for Yoruichi_ _to act_ _._

 _. . . I should probably still see what I can do to accelerate Isshin regaining his powers._

"We'll just observe for now," he finally decided. Tessai nodded and headed out. Now that he knew that they were not about to launch an all-out attack, he had to see to his next priority.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

After flitting about some more, the Straw Hats finally went to find a place to settle into. With a little searching (and arguing) they found a suitable, large, empty building.

As they filed in, carefully passing through the door all the boxes and bags, Luffy stopped and looked around in confusion for a moment, before continuing on.

"Something wrong, Luffy?" asked Chopper.

"Nah, nothing to worry about."

For himself, Franky was distracted trying to keep track of everything. Some of the guys and gals were just piling everything together, while others were taking things out just to start setting them up now. It was chaos!

It was also instantly obvious they would need to later expand and renovate. Half the place was taken up by the mound of stuff they had stolen, with no place to really unpack everything.

Sanji was muttering to himself as he started setting up their new kitchen, yet Franky's sharp ears could hear he was already planning on designing and installing a newer one to his personal specifications. Mixed with heavy regret for how he would end up putting aside this kitchen he was even now assembling. Fair enough. It was like your first set of tools; for all that you know they are junk, they are still your _first_ , and nothing could change that undefinable, manly bond between you and them!

Quickly Franky did not wipe away tears that were certainly _not_ threatening to fall from his eyes. A man did not cry!

Sniffing deeply, he got back to work, trying to figure out what was in which bags. He also made a mental note to talk to Brook later about the two of them going around to find 'guitars,' or something like that. Their memories were still hazy on the fine points. Not that it had prevented both of them from itching to play music in Hueco Mundo, only to never find any instruments. Not like there were the means to make them there either!

(Yes, he had tried, but the 'trees' were too thin and brittle.)

 _This_ place was _far_ more SUPER!

Granted, he could see that Starrk and some of the others were a little overwhelmed. Made sense, given how they had all spent ages and ages living in an unchanging desert, with the tedium largely only ever punctuated by the occasional blood and death. The Living World was just so far over the horizon of what they were used to, aside from some vague recollections of their pasts.

Personally, Franky's only complaint about the city was the lack of ocean. Ah well, they were not staying here forever. Just until it got boring.

He glanced at Halibel, who seemed to be both serene yet confused. Frowning a little, he went over to her. "What's up?"

With a shake of her head, she looked away, uncharacteristically unsure. It could be hard to read her expression with most of her face covered by her mask, and her usually cold, unreadable eyes. So of course the realization that he could actually see her uncertainty, only made the whole situation more surreal.

Patiently he waited for her to find the words, and with a huff of breath she found them. "I'm worried that there are greater challenges to come than we anticipate. We have found so much bounty here, with a place without any threats we can detect, and so many new comforts. To say nothing of what we stole from Las Noches. Unfortunately, I suspect that the sacrifice we paid for it was not enough. So I believe there is more to come."

Ah, yes. A Hollow's Aspect of Death was a deeply private matter, yet Franky suspected 'sacrifice' played a large role in Halibel's.

With anyone else Franky would have put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Halibel however was . . . prickly about people, _especially_ men, touching her without permission. Even Luffy had waited a good while until he was sure she would not just let him do it because she feared his power. He was the only guy with that privilege. So instead he gave her a big grin. "Hey, hey, don't look at it like that. Yeah we trashed through that palace and found we needed to come to this Super place, but you're not looking at the big picture!"

"Oh?" she inquired with a cool, cocked eyebrow, regaining her composure and confidence.

"Yeah! Just think of our whole journey through Hueco Mundo being a prelude to this place! All those battles, all those struggles, all of that was to help get us ready to come here! Even our training, do you honestly think we'd have been able to pull all that off if we weren't as good as we are? Or if we hadn't arrived at precisely that time at Las Noches? Believe you me, I feel we paid plenty to get this far!"

For a long moment Halibel stared at him, until the skin around her eyes crinkled into what he knew was a smile. "I think you're right. Thank you, Franky." She held out her fist, and he reciprocated by bumping it. "To our new home," she softly said.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"

Until a few minutes ago, Arisawa Tatsuki had been enjoying a pleasant, nighttime stroll by herself—muggers beware someone who was viewed with good reason as the second strongest teenage girl in the entirety of Japan. Seriously, she had come in second place at a nationwide martial arts championship, _after_ having her arm broken by a car before the finals.

So when she had spotted a weirdly dressed man running down the barely-lit street with three kids tucked under his arms, well, she was in a position to do something about it. If it was as sketchy as it looked.

"Tatsuki!?" cried one of the kids.

"KARIN!? LET THEM GO YOU CREEP OR ELSE I'LL—"

"Are you a friend of Kurosaki Ichigo?" the probably-pedophile interrupted.

"Yeah, since they've been kids—"

"Even worse," he broke in over Karin, and now Tatsuki recognized him as Don Kanonji, the TV star with that supernatural show. The one where she had really started seeing all that . . . stuff. More importantly, she realized Karin did not seem to be struggling against Kanonji, and Tatsuki knew for a fact that the little girl was as vicious as her big brother when push came to shove.

"Can you feel what's happening? The Evil Spirits!?" the okay-probably-not-a-pedophile went on, and now Tatsuki hesitated. She could indeed feel _something_ in the air. Something . . . off, that had left her neck hairs on end the last half hour or so. Like all those other times she could remember with all that strange stuff. The monsters.

Unfortunately, now that it had been fully pointed out to her, now that she was focusing on it, the sensation, the pressure, was coming right to the forefront. Just like those times before.

Except much, much, much stronger. A newborn kitten compared to a sabre-toothed tiger.

It must have showed on her face, because he simply said, "We've got to keep running as far as we can. Follow me."

"That will not be necessary." They all jumped at the sudden appearance of a tall, muscular man with sunglasses and an apron. _Wha—! There wasn't anyone there a moment ago!_

"Tessai!"

"Tessai!" cheered the two kids who Tatsuki did not know.

"Come with me to somewhere safe," claimed the newest stranger, who the two unknown kids seemed to know.

Concerned, Tatsuki followed with the others.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Urahara Shōten

Kisuke only reflexively acknowledged that Tessai had brought the kids back, along with some of Kurosaki Ichigo's acquaintances. Probably for the best, yes.

Regrettably, they were totally unsuited for dealing with this invasion force.

Although, the Hollows' behavior was so erratic, he could not figure out what their exact intentions were. Maybe a scouting force? The problem with that theory though was that Aizen should have already known the important details of Karakura.

Still, the fact remained that there were not enough fighters able to stop them in the city. If something happened, Kisuke and Tessai would have to step up to slow them down long enough for the Seireitei to respond.

 _And that's assuming they_ do _respond,_ he thought with growing concern, as his internal clock continued to count up.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was many things, but foolhardy was not one of them. He was accepted by the Gotei 13 as a Taichou and the head of their scientific research, because his value outweighed any ethical concerns about his methods. For instance, he consistently turned out increasingly sensitive sensors to pick up Hollows emerging into the World of the Living. While that one Gillian that Kurosaki Ichigo had driven away had only been present for a short while, these newcomers were _Adjuchas_ -class Menos Grande, and had been here more than long enough. Ergo, a rapid-response squad should have been here by now, preferably led by at least two Taichou. Minimum.

Aizen must be interfering somehow. Indeed, he had possibly even done so with the Gillian.

 _Or maybe whatever he did in getting my Hogyoku caused too big of a distraction for the_ _Gotei_ _. . ._ _Are Yoruichi and the kids okay?_

He mentally rejected those thoughts. Aizen had been playing in the shadows too long to do anything overt. Moreover, a megalomaniac like him would leave everyone alive, just so that he could gloat and emphasize their impotency. That they were not even important enough to kill.

Including Kurosaki Ichigo. The boy's growth potential and heritage, and their importance to Kisuke's plans, were too significant for Kisuke to accept anything less.

Yes, Yoruichi and the others should be fine. In fact, she would smack him if she found out he dared worry that she was incapable of keeping herself and those kids safe.

Later, when it was safe to do so, Kisuke would take the time to mourn the inevitable passing of Kuchiki Rukia. She had not deserved to be caught up in this mess. He could only hope that whatever death Aizen had wrought for her, it was relatively painless.

She would, like so many others, be avenged.

He calmed his thoughts, and began planning out his next move. Further refining his plans with this new data, and coming up with ever more contingencies.

Whatever had happened with the Seireitei, he had to assume that they were unavailable for the time being, and the Human Souls of Karakura Town were endangered. This was the vanguard of Aizen's forces while the Gotei 13 were occupied.

 _Thankfully the Arrancar_ _aren't_ _doing anything serious_ _yet_ _. So I have some time, and can use it to gather more information on them. Only question_ _is,_ _how_ much _time._

 _Either way, I'm going to need help to pull this off. First thing's first is to accelerate the return of Isshin's powers._

 _I'll have to get the Visoreds involved too. For all that they hate both Humans and Shinigami, they still hate Aizen more._

 _Of course Isshin'll be annoyed that I never told him how close I was to those 'criminals' who 'voluntarily' tried to seek out the power of Hollows. He'll get over it_.

 _Hmmm, Ishida Ryuken is unlikely, but maybe if I stage something to happen near his hospital?_

As much as such tactics sickened him, Kisuke feared it might become all-too necessary. He needed to regain control of the situation.

Still, these Hollows were being uncharacteristically passive. Which while welcome, given it meant more time for him to act, was still a surprising twist. Another mystery to add to the growing pile.

He gave a mental snort. _Who knows, maybe they're benign Hollows! Heh._

 **—Seas of Souls—**

In the back room of a certain candy shop, Karin had managed to regain her composure enough to place a call.

" _Listen to me Yuzu_ ," Karin breathlessly said into the landline phone. "Whatever happens, don't leave home. I'm, I'm coming as soon as I can. Just don't leave, alright!?"

" _Okay_ ," her twin hesitantly promised. " _Just, Karin, what's happening!?_ "

"It's Spirits. Some really strong bad ones just came to town!"

" _Well what about you then!?_ " cried Yuzu.

Tatsuki plucked the phone out of Karin's hand. "Yuzu? It's Tatsuki, Ichigo's friend. I'll get your sister home safe, I promise."

" _A-alright! Thank you!_ "

"See you soon." The martial artist hung up, and wiped the sweat from her brow. Turning to Karin, she simply said, "How sensitive is Yuzu to this?"

"She can sense ghosts, but can't see anything but a blur, even if she knows they're there."

"It'll be safer staying here," warned Don Kanonji, who seemed to be peering at the walls with a speculative look.

Shaking her head, Karin argued, "I'm not risking bringing Yuzu back through the streets here. Also, we've never been attacked before at home, so we should be safe."

"If you're sure," Tatsuki allowed, before frowning. "Just keep a phone on you, and keep in regular contact, got it!?"

Scowling like her brother would, Karin reluctantly nodded.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Straw Hat Warehouse**

"Thank you," Robin said, accepting the steaming tea from Brook.

"My pleasure," he courteously bowed, before moving off to serve other drinks.

She sipped it down, enjoying the taste. Despite this, she could not help but wonder if there were some other drinks she should try. Some of the Humans they had passed by had been drinking something on a balcony which smelled rather good. Distant memories told her it was called 'coffee.' Maybe it was something she would prefer over this brand of tea?

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Hueco Mundo, Las Noches**

Inexplicably, Aizen's heart clenched as some part of his mind screamed _**HERESY!**_

He blinked, and then applied a healing Kido for a concussion, ignoring how he had not taken a blow to the head while against the Gotei 13.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Straw Hat Warehouse**

Every member of Robin's friends and family were either busy unpacking more, or taking a breather. This whole new life of theirs was so different from what they were used to, so some of them needed a little time to process it. Or nap in Zoro and Starrk's cases.

Personally, Robin wanted to go off with Luffy some more. Glimpses some paintings in homes had filled her with the desire to draw some pictures of all the wondrous sights. A hobby of hers that had gone forgotten for too long amongst the desolate wastelands.

Alas, she had a responsibility to fulfill first though. They would all be better served if they were armed with something they were in dire need of; the key to unlocking the universe:

Knowledge.

With a little searching, she retrieved the main computers that they had stolen from that lab, and with Franky's help she got them working. Afterwards he had gone to start examining the building more, and taking measurements for his plans of making this place into a proper home. She suspected that by the time he was done, this place would be more of a fortress than Las Noches.

 _Amazing,_ _she thought after she logged onto the computer. T_ _he previous owner really was so arrogant he failed to put in any security features._ _I will have to work with Franky when he gets back to install one later._ _Although_ _it can wait a few days until we've settled_ _in more._ _There_ _are some higher priorities._

 _After all_ , she smiled in good humour, _if we're not all prepared,_ _we may be all butchered just a day after finding paradise_.

For instance, one of those 'higher priorities' was confirming something Usopp had uncovered when stripping down everything from the lab they robbed: devices capable of recording whatever was in front of them. Or surveillance cameras he had called them.

A hurried investigation had revealed that not only was the whole building covered in different machines capable of observing more than just visuals, there was also a tap into another, main network that extended across the entirety of Las Noches. Working furiously, Franky had used the previous owner's – _We should really get his name. Although Jinbe may have already killed him, or his fellow Shinigami s_ _laves_ _may have. Or this 'Aizen' killed him after we left_ — own saved codes to cripple the main security network. Ergo, they had left no live or mechanical witnesses of themselves behind.

Now however, Robin wanted to check for any other dangerous tidbits had been saved away. She doubted anyone so inquisitive and (unsuccessfully) paranoid as the scientist they had robbed, had failed to gather information on their fellow lapdogs. Files which were now hers to peruse. After all, she doubted that Las Noches would just forgive and forget about them, meaning it was imperative she learnt what she could in case those enslaved Hollows or their masters _did_ track down the Straw Hats. So it fell to Robin to arm her nakama with knowledge—for it was power.

With a few more keystrokes, Robin found what she was looking for, and quickly scanned through it. Unfortunately a lot of it was in technical terms she did not fully understand, or details she did not see the necessity of (like that the exact measurements of 'Cuatro Espada's' limbs and torso). Moreover, the Primera and Segunda Espada's stats were largely blank. Thankfully there was still enough for her to begin to understand what and who they were dealing with, and conclude that there were likely no immediate threats (i.e. a confirmed ability that would let the Espada easily track them down).

Given how there was no information on the Septima Espada, it appeared he was the individual they had robbed blind.

(She would have to make a point to later change all the terminology to say 'Ethpada' instead. Because it amused her, and more importantly, that was the term Luffy was using.)

She put those files aside, and then turned to digging up whatever she could find on the World of the Living. Looking at what sort of headings her search brought up, it quickly became clear that the focus had been haphazard at best. There was little interest in the place itself, and only a collection of notes and theories of certain empowered groups; like Quincies for example. Curiously, _very_ curiously, Karakura Town had its own file, and was the largest one at that. Clearly this Aizen character had his attention on this town. Unfortunately there was nothing concrete on his ambitions.

Humming a little to herself, Robin tapped her chin in thought.

Evidently, she, Luffy, and the others remained here for too long, they were likely to end up fighting other Arrancar. Although she could make some assumptions about the other group –they were not really 'the enemy' yet, as that would require the Senchou taking them seriously. For instance, given how Aizen evidentially already had plans for this city, the Humans here were already endangered regardless if she and others stayed. Therefore, the question was whether or not it would be better to move on now, or stay and protect the city as necessary while they remained.

Seeing as how she could already hear the sounds of a cheerful Luffy helping Franky organize some supplies, followed by a loud **CRASH!,** and Franky 'suggesting' to Luffy he help elsewhere. She giggled at that, even glancing over to see her Senchou leap away while the blue-haired man buried his face in one massive palm before fixing what was broken. A second later Usopp gave a loud "Squawk!" as his friend barreled into him. _We_ _ll, it seems we're staying for now._

With that in mind, Robin confirmed that not only had they stolen most recordings of Karakura, Franky's liberal application of that computer virus had even disabled the surveillance devices already planted here. _I'll have to brief the others later. Although maybe after they've had a chance to see what they think of this place_.

That taken care of, she returned to her studies of the Living World. _From what I remember of Luffy when we were alive, he has a voracious appetite_. _We can't depend upon the food we stole, and the Reishi is too thin here. Is there any form of substance here besides eating Souls?_

One entry title caught her attention. _Gigai?_

 **—Seas of Souls—**

After a few hours, the Arrancar started feeling restless again.

Unlike Shinigami, Hollows did not sleep. They could rest, sure, and nap, but not even Starrk or Zoro truly shut down to slumber. For a regular Hollow, to do so was to leave your mind vulnerable to all the Souls you had consumed. Especially since so many of those subjugated beings had been strong-willed, ever struggling to become the new dominant personality. To say nothing of how it left you vulnerable to _other_ Hollows, hungrily prowling around. So naturally, no Hollow dared or could fully sleep.

After becoming Arrancar, they could now sleep if they wanted to, except that even while surrounded by so many true allies, the fact remained that it was dangerous within Hueco Mundo. You never knew when rival Hollows might attack the group. So even Zoro and Starrk had to remain always attentive to their surroundings.

In other words, turning in to bed was not an option, so they worked or played throughout the night.

"Whoosh!" declared Luffy. "How's about we take a break outside? We've been cooped up in here."

Jostled out from his nap at his Senchou's words, Zoro stood up with a feline grace. "Should take a look around the perimeter while we're at it. We didn't look around before."

"Some fresh air would be nice," admitted Jinbe, putting down a bag he had been about to start examining the contents of.

Sanji glanced at his stove, having been about to start up the heat to cook some more. With a shrug he decided it could wait a bit, and he did want to join the others.

So all nineteen of them walked out the door, and took to the air—

—and froze.

This,

This,

This was beyond anything—

—beyond words!

Even the earlier sight of the city paled before this!

Creeping across the land was light that pushed away the shadows.

Rising over the horizon was something too bright to look at, bringing a warm end to the empty darkness.

"The sun," whispered Luffy, as they squinted and shaded their eyes, still enthralled by its beauty.

"Wh-what is it?" whispered Lilynette.

Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Franky, Sanji, Chopper, Brook, Apacci, Mila Rose, Lilynette, Nel, Pesche and Dondochakka, all had tears in their eyes. The rest were not far off.

"It's the sun. It means the end of the night, and the beginning of a new day," Robin softly answered.

"A sunrise, and the dawn," added Luffy. "A new day. And a new age for us all."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Across the street from the Straw Hat's new warehouse home, out of earshot and safely behind their barrier that both cloaked them and misdirected any and all attention, the Visoreds could only stare in shock at their new neighbours.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Comments for chapter 4 have led me to clarify something:**

 **If Luffy fought either Yamamoto or Aizen, with both Soul Reapers going all out, Luffy would have a 20% chance of winning. This is not a story where Luffy's going to be trouncing everybody with ease. Even the fire resistance mentioned in chapter 2 is only _resistance_. Yamamoto's Bankai trumps it by a far margin. That said, _their_ odds of winning would be only 30% unless they pulled out their respective Bankai, since Luffy is indeed abnormally powerful in his own right. Moreover, the sheer act of pushing them to that extent is a feat no Hollow or Shinigami ever managed in canon. **

**.**

 **While Don Kanonji is portrayed as more of a joke character, I respect his dedication, and frankly the scene where he stood up to Aizen is something I found both awesome and hilarious. I mean, the look on** _ **Gin's**_ **face! X-D**

 **Besides that though, he was literally having trouble standing under the physical force of Aizen's presence, and yet he still chose to oppose Evil to buy time for others to escape.**

 **.**

 **For those of you desolated by the lack of Straw Hats driving, you should thank Crossovernaru for giving me some omake ideas.**

 **.**

 **Getting into Starrk's head was greatly helped by the collective works of darkling59. In retrospect their work also helped a lot with Halibel. Go read their fics!**

 **.**

 **During the massive battle in the Fake Karakura Town, also known as the White Invasion, those buildings were made of Reiatsu. Hence why people were thrown into them, and not through them.**

 **.**

 **Remember that Karin's memories of the Hollow attack at the very beginning of the series were erased.**

 **.**

 **Kisuke Urahara is a guy who fundamentally works for the 'greater good.' Unfortunately, much like a certain elderly, also eccentric behaving, wizard, his 'greater good' involve schemes that can be highly morally dubious, overly rely upon the sacrifices of teenagers, and long-term schemes that depend upon a large helping of luck. In the end, Kisuke is still overall a force for good though.**

 **Unfortunately for him here, he is working under some faulty information. Or rather, information that is accurate for 99.** **999999** **% of Hollows, and not these ones. Given enough time** **,** **his genius intellect may or may not realize something is definitely wrong with his assumptions.**

 **.**

 **Yes, the canon Espada and Fraccion were not all that shaken up about daytime when they reached the fake Karakura Town, but by that point they had been living with Aizen's fake daytime, and possibly artificial sunrises, for a while.**

 **.**

 **Remember that as brilliant as Aizen is, Hachi is the best there is at barriers.**

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 **Next Chapter: "The Seireitei Regroups"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	6. The Seireitei Regroups

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, mellra, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out! Also thanks to other readers who have given incredible help, like scl04 and Creation Teller.

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

It honestly varies in regards to who is physically stronger between Bleach and One Piece. I mean, Kenpachi was pulling off feats near the end that would make Kaidou jealous I think. That said, the One Piece guys and were reborn, so they are working within Bleach laws of physics now.

As for Haki, in relation to the above bit, they have similar abilities. Pesquisa and Hierro are essentially Observation and Armament Haki respectively, and the effect of using one's Reiatsu on others is similar to Conqueror's Haki.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

Glad the reactions were down well :-) And the Straw Hats will be interacting with others more, no worries on that front ;-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

musizlover2008

Hmm, while that is indeed a surprising coincidence, the Straw Hats' memories are still pretty vague, and Caesar Clown I feel is not someone who would have made a strong enough impact to be remembered. Or at least certainly not more than others.

Wait and see on the outfits ;-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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HUNTER202002

Glad you like the comedy scenes, and yeah, never underestimate Luffy's luck!

There *may* be an omake on that. And yeah, 'Hueco Mundo.'

The *true* Soul King has yet to make his return (the guy up in that other dimension is just a fraud, honest).

Wait and see on the sisters ;-)

LOL yes, very important! To answer your question, yes there will be some pairings. Which ones? My lips are sealed. Although I will say I may be correcting some issues I took with some canon relationships.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

LOL I like that idea with Wade. Makes me wish that I was more familiar with Fate/Zero so I could read that! Unfortunately that will not be Aizen's fate, if only because I am not touching the Fourth Wall. You might find "Uninvited Guests" interesting though. It is a Bleach fic that touches on similar stuff as it progresses. Regardless, it is my favourite fic period for a good reason.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

LOL I had not thought about that between Lilynette and Nelliel!

Alas, both Menoly and Loly are still fanatical fangirls for Aizen. Just because he has suffered a setback does nothing to diminish either his power, or how he is (apparently) without fear.

Hmm, I had honestly not considered Zoro/Unohana. If he was aware of her bloodlust I admit that might, scarily(?)/creepily(?) work out. Although I would say that he would have to first prove himself a superior swordsman to full-power Kenpachi.

Also in terms of original ideas (please keep it up), I had been considering skipping that Zanpakuto arc, but the idea of some joining the Straw Hats is indeed intriguing!

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

The Bleach cast has some abilities that One Piece would be frankly envious of, and they did not just pass over with all their living abilities; they had to start over from scratch basically as Souls. But yeah arguably I have still held them back a lot. My reasoning for doing so though is that it would be a boring story if they could just casually overpower the entirety of the Bleach cast.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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HatethePlayer-NevertheGame

Awesome to hear mine is the best One Piece x Bleach crossover! :-D As for Aizen, yeah I have seen him been written off too easily in other fics. This is him in his horrifying glory. As for Gin . . . I think I will be surprising you wonderful readers ;-)

For the Straw Hats . . . yes I very much love the canon misconceptions of Luffy and Co., and enjoy playing it up in my other fics as well. And yeah, Urahara will be finding out more, although trick will be finding a feasible manner for him to discover all the details.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Legianreader2003

Awesome to hear I have the best! :-D Note at the end of the Author Notes I think you will like too ;-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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RED

LOL yeah, while I am acknowledging Aizen's power and genius, and I am not going to make it _easy_ for him! ;-D As for the Visoreds . . . they deserve some pity ;-P

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Have a good day/night whatever the time is in your place yourself, and thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Power Levels

You may want to go back and read that Author Note again. I said that Luffy was weaker than the two strongest guys in canon at this point, and would still have a chance of winning. Moreover for them to win, they would most likely be forced to use power that they never felt forced to pre-Thousand Year Blood arc. He is definitely no pebble. He never fought in Las Noches because frankly it was beneath him, in a way that his nakama respected as both from their time as pirates, and as Hollows.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

LOL yes, the Vizards are definitely going to be yelling at Kisuke. Just not this chapter.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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125b

I like to think so! X-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Guest (please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

Sorry for the delay, but been pretty busy with my other stories and real life. Appreciate hearing about the potential of this story though! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 6: The Seireitei Regroups

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A day had passed since Aizen Sousuke's dramatic, bloody departure from the Seireitei.

In total, three Taichou had defected, leaving nine of the remaining Taichou requiring emergency medical attention, the civilian government slaughtered, and the Gotei 13's hub of advanced technology and research obliterated. Worst of all for the overly-conservative Shinigami, there was no way to keep a lid on this, with uncomfortably accurate rumours already spreading through the rank and file, and even to the Rukongai. The sight of massive Hollow-like giants peering through a giant tear in the sky, was the sort of thing that could be seen from dozens of kilometers away, and raised awkward questions.

In summary, it was easily one of the worst days in the Gotei 13's history.

For now though, the best they could do was focus on recovery. The loyal Taichou, and most of the Ryoka, were all currently resting in the hospital, with the exception of Unohana-taichou, who was busy keeping them all alive. Nevertheless, the largest and most powerful nation state in three worlds remained a bustling hive of activity. It was essential to keep the military and general instruments of government functioning as smoothly as possible, otherwise the whole society's infrastructure would be thrown into disarray. At best that would cost lives, at worse it could cause the whole organization to collapse.

It was times like this, when the topmost hierarchy had been effectively, if however temporarily, decapitated, that you truly knew the quality of the rest of the officers. Would they rise to the occasion, keeping their subordinates focused upon their duties? Or would they panic, be paralyzed, or even merely plod along through their usual routine, pretending nothing was wrong?

This was the occasion when the Taichou themselves would be judged on whether or not they had indeed appointed the proper people to their positions.

The results surprised many.

For instance, on more than one occasion, it had been commented that one harbinger of the apocalypse was the Fukutaichou of the 10th Division willingly doing her paperwork, without her Taichou badgering her into doing it.

Or screaming at her to do it.

Or throwing her paperwork back onto her desk after she tried (again) to slip it into his own large Pile of Bureaucracy.

So when people caught Matsumoto Rangiku-fukutaichou actually doing her job, with the previously mentioned catastrophes that had sent her Taichou among others into surgery for near-mortal wounds, a rather sad and depressing number concluded that said doomsday predictions were true.

Their acting-boss then glared at them in a way that made their spines shiver and told them they were still expected to fulfill their appointed tasks. Or _else_.

Wisely they obeyed and left her in peace and quiet.

Groaning, Rangiku scribbled off her signature once again and strongly resisted the urge to take a break, and drink from one of the caches of sake she had hidden around the office for whenever a certain slave-driver stepped out.

It was two in the afternoon, and she was dying of thirst without her alcohol!

Mentally slapping herself, she focused on the next sheet before her. She was not only handling routine, if essential, administration, repairs, medical reports, etcetera; as the second-in-command of the Tenth Division, she was preparing herself and her subordinates for war.

The first war any of them had ever fought.

Back as students in the Academy, the history texts had waxed poetic about the righteousness and assurance of the Gotei 13's victories in previous wars. Conflicts that had been swift, brutal, and overwhelmingly in their favour. Similar accounts could be found in other records throughout the Seireitei. After attaining her present rank however, she had been both entitled and obligated to know certain other facts of life. Such as how beyond the usual, obvious reasons associated with Human conflicts, short wars were in fact a _necessity_ for the Seireitei.

A Shinigami's purpose was to maintain the Balance of souls. Something they could not do while they were out fighting and dying on a distant battlefield. Especially since every Soul they failed to purify would in all likelihood either become a Hollow, or empower a pre-existing one. Without their natural predators, the number of those monsters would swell. So each 'no-name lackey' killed meant there was one more sector of the Living World unprotected. Which of course meant that despite how weak they were in comparison to the Fukutaichou and Taichou, their lives were of important strategic value—so of course they remained priority targets for the enemy.

It was simple logistics really.

There were 6,000 Shinigami in the Gotei 13. _Only_ 6,000, responsible for overseeing the spiritual balance of _two worlds_. Literally _billions_ of Souls. Based on what Aizen had already proven capable of, Rangiku was chillingly aware that in the months to come, that number would be drastically reduced. Well, more than it had already been after what he did to the 12th Division.

If they lost too many of the rank and file, then the Seireitei may become incapable of maintaining that essential balance . . .

In layman's terms, despite having the only army of supernatural soldiers in all three worlds, the Gotei 13 could not afford to deploy most of them in the war. For the same reasons, they could not risk a protracted war that endangered them, lest the Balance be disrupted beyond repair, and/or the ranks of Hollows swelled beyond even the ability of the Taichou to successfully cull. However, at the same time, if Aizen managed to marshal a large enough horde of Hollows, including Gillians, those same troops would be required to manage the flanks and support the elites, who regrettably could not be everywhere at once. Especially since so many Taichou-class fighters had injuries that not even Unohana-taichou could fully heal.

With those cheery thoughts in mind, Rangiku pulled up a list detailing several of her subordinates, mentally reviewing all her recollections of them. Ever since she had started being the one to go trawling for graduates from the Academy, a 'surprising' number of their new recruits had been men. Or a few women who had seen similar 'benefits' to joining the 10th Division. Regardless, she and Hitsugaya-Taichou –Yes, she was quite capable of regarding him respectfully in her head— knew them all by heart. He knew their Academy grades, talents, Kido development, and every report they had ever written off the top of his head. While she knew who they were as people. It made for surprisingly good teamwork.

When she was actually working.

Ruthlessly she stabbed that insignificant piece of guilt. It was not her fault that Taichou had been nearly killed. That _Gin_ had deceived—

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

[Flashback]

 _Running as fast as she could along with the other remaining Fukutaichou, working in tandem. Hisagi was a friend, Tetsuzaemon more of a friend of a friend, while Omaeda was kinda pathetic. However, as grating as the fatso was, like her and the others, he possessed an unswerving devotion to his Taichou—even if she really needed to get laid._

 _A part of her knew Hisagi was tearing up inside at what Tousen was doing, yet all of them stayed professional about this. Remembering their oaths and responsibilities. They were too weak to fight directly, so they would find other ways to be useful; particularly getting medical aid._

 _Without a word they split up to search for members of the 4_ _th_ _Division, even as the Taichou began to fall._

 _. . ._

 _Racing full tilt, she found a Relief Squad, and she flared her Reiatsu to alert the others. Hah! Knowing how to sense for and identify the various doctors was always handy, be it to find help on the battlefield, or to woo an awkward guy into curing your hangover._

 _No time to waste, she tucked one of the healers under one arm, only for something to make her look up. Soi Fong-Taichou was flailing at nothing in the air –_ Aizen's real Shikai! Does this mean he has to focus on who sees his illusions or not!? _— when a flash of quicksilver impaled the diminutive woman._

 _Sunlight reflected off the long, thin blade, before retracting back into the hands of—_

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Present

A knock on her door blessedly jolted Rangiku out of her memories.

"Enter!" she called, trying to appear as serious as possible. When she saw who it was though, she relaxed to be friendlier.

"Uhm, Sasakibe-fukutaichou wanted you to have this," Kira Izuru-fukutaichou softly said, despite addressing a peer. "I got it while handing in my own stuff."

With all the Taichou out of commission, and the Soutaichou on strict bed rest, the Fukutaichou of the 1st Division had assumed command. Old as dirt, and intimately familiar with the inner workings of the system, he was a natural choice.

"Do you mean work from the 3rd Division, or the 5th as well?" she pleasantly asked, only for him to look away. He obviously had not slept in a while –probably not since he had been imprisoned the other day— and was paler than she remembered. _When I beat him until he couldn't get up again_ , she acknowledged, with mix feelings.

Both of them had been tricked into fighting, with her wanting to aid her Taichou, while he had been trying to protect one of his two closest friends.

Who had then been impaled by the man she idolised above all others. A man he had, however unintentionally and insignificantly, aided.

"I'm sure when Momo wakes up, she'll be happy to hear you've been helping run her Division," she reassured him.

"It's nothing," he said, still not looking at her.

"Mmhmm~. You're sweeter than you want people to think." Finally facing her, his utter confusion was written over his face. Inwardly sighing, she tried a different route. "Izuru, there was nothing you could have done," she assured him. "We were _all_ played for fools."

 _Now if only I could accept that as well._

When Izuru had first met Ichimaru Gin, the man had been his saviour. In time, his superior and mentor, someone he had trusted explicitly. He had that weird way about him, and the rest of the 3rd Division would have charged into Hueco Mundo itself at their Taichou's command. They had stood up for him, even while the rest of the Gotei 13 found him creepy. As for herself . . . No.

While the 12th Division was physically the worst off, the 5th was arguably just as bad. In painful retrospect, the respect they had shown Aizen had in reality been borderline worship, with Hinamori Momo-fukutaichou as head priestess. The revelation of his true colours, and attempted murder of the sweet girl, had thrown them all into dark despair. Morale had been gutted, leaving them nearly listless. Despite it being only a day since the disaster, and his own injuries, Izuru had thrown himself into helping them as best he could, while simultaneously trying to handle his own confused and horrified subordinates. Somehow, he was successfully handling the work of two Fukutaichou and two Taichou at once.

(She had an uncomfortable suspicion Sasakibe-fukutaichou was allowing it, because he figured overstraining one Fukutaichou, was worth the price of keeping both divisions from collapsing.)

"Just you wait," she promised. "She'll be up and about before you know it, thanking you for handling things when she couldn't, and throwing herself into becoming stronger."

" . . . Stronger to fight Aizen," he emotionlessly said. Given how the younger woman had reacted when the man had faked his death, he was obviously afraid for how she would cope with trying to think of him as an enemy. Even after stabbing her.

Unfortunately, Rangiku knew his concerns were not baseless. Would love or duty win over?

". . . Then become stronger yourself so she doesn't have to," she scolded, making his eyes sharpen. "Oh, sure, I beat you," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "but I'm _me_ , and I'll be training too. Or do you think you can't keep up?" she challenged.

He looked at her for another long moment, before giving a firm nod in turn. There, see? She _did_ know people! With a few simple words, the events of yesterday were put aside and forgiven, and her friend could begin recovering.

Moreover, she _would_ get stronger. For the Gotei 13. For her Taichou. And to beat Gin to death for leaving like that, and then start beating him some more until she dislodged some answers!

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

With a groan of pain, and one hand pressed against the bandages wrapped around his torso, Abarai Renji-fukutaichou started to work himself upright to get out of the hospital bed.

Rukia had been by earlier to wish him better, although too passively for his peace of mind. So he had insulted her, making her snap back with her familiar fire from the good old days, and he felt much better. He further appreciated the lack of being punched while recovering.

Except he was fine! Sure, he had been told to rest for a few more days, but there was too much to do! So he would get up, and make his way to the 6th Division to get a handle on how things were going.

Sure, Iba Tetsuzaemon was handling as much of that as possible –nice of an old buddy from the 11th— except he had his own division to manage. Not to mention a Taichou who was doubtless feeling pretty upset right about now.

He was mentally steeling himself for moving his legs off the bed, when his plans were interrupted by someone barging right in without even knocking. Of course, said intruder did not hold to that particular type of etiquette. His version of manners was wrapped up in two people hacking each other to pieces.

"Hey," said Madarame Ikkaku, holding up two trays of food. "Figured you'd could use the company."

With a weak grin, Renji managed, "Aww, look'it you, being all motherly."

"Only because you're so pathetic," the bald man shot back.

Unfortunately both insults were lacking their regular energy, and they knew it. At least Ikkaku was silent as Renji laboriously adjusted himself so he was sitting upright. He stayed in bed though, since it would be uncool to risk collapsing in front of a buddy.

"Not that I'm complaining," he finally said, reaching for the food, "but aren't you managing the 11th Division?"

"Tch, nah."

"Huh?"

Whatever Ikkaku's faults, he was devoted to Zaraki Kenpachi-taichou. While the same could be said for the rest of the battle-hungry division, they were a rowdy bunch who tended to need a firm hand when their leader was preoccupied elsewhere. Renji figured those who were mobile right now were likely prowling about restlessly for a fight, needing something to distract them from what had happened over the last few days. As for the rest . . .

"Would've thought Unohana'd be too busy to keep the hospitalized ones in line."

Smirking with some of his old fire, Ikkaku shook his head. "She's too busy keeping the Taichou alive, and keeping the Soutaichou from overstraining himself I hear."

Despite how they were talking more than they usually did without alcohol, both men were mowing through their food at a quick pace. A trait shared by many others who had survived the more impoverished districts of the Rukongai.

"Yeah," nodded Renji. "Way I heard it, Sasakibe's giving him the occasional report, except he still wants to get out of bed and start planning out hunting down Aizen."

"Man's a monster, no question."

"Nope."

"You do know I'm talking about Yamamoto, right?"

"Obviously, idiot. So if you're not running heard on 'em, then who is?"

Of all the possible answers, this one was honestly one of the last Renji would have expected.

"Yachiru."

". . . Huuuuuuh!?"

For all that Kenpachi was terrifying, tall, horrifying, coarse, and downright frightening, his adoptive daughter was the opposite. The Fukutaichou was a small child, pink-haired, chirpy, utterly adorable (when not cheering on death and mayhem), and somehow even more irresponsible than the rest of those sword-happy maniacs.

"Yep," now Ikkaku's grin was all teeth. "Making her rounds, and anybody acting out is either scared out of their minds, or slugged unconscious. Asked her, and she said it's time for her to start acting like a Fukutaichou, until the Taichou is up and about again."

A shadow fell over his eyes though, at how the man he respected above all others, had been crippled. Dishonoured.

While Kenpachi remained more dangerous than all (or _possibly_ almost all) his subordinates, would he ever be able to regain his pride? Would he truly be able to lead the Seireitei's heavy combat, front-line division?

Recovering himself, Ikkaku continued, "Part of why I'm here to be honest. Figured you deserved better than dealing with her popping in to manage you too. Anyways, Yumichika's handling the paperwork and junk back home. I put the rest of the uninjured to running drills, yelling at 'em for doing so pathetic against a bunch of baby Ryoka. Then headed over here."

Renji stared at him in silence for a whole minute before, "Yachiru's actually acting responsible?"

"Yes! Seriously, she is!"

". . . Scary."

". . . Yeah, okay, it is."

They were mostly done with their lunch when Renji finally broached what duty required of him, even though he knew his friend and mentor would hate to hear it. "Ikkaku, with everything that's happened, we _need_ your—"

Raising an authoritative palm, the man silenced his supposed superior. "I don't want to hear it," he said with an uncharacteristic iciness. "I will serve and die under Zaraki Kenpachi, and none other." Eyes narrowing, "You of all people should understand. That's why I taught you how to find your Bankai."

Despite knowing this was deeply personal, in light of circumstances Renji had to ask, "Why _did_ you learn it then? If not to use it against a man who loves battle."

Snorting, Ikkaku looked away. "It isn't about power. It was to better master myself."

Bluntly he changed the subject. "Have you heard how the rest of the Fukutaichou doing?"

Sighing, Renji accepted the other's wishes, and chose to be honest. "Bad. You know what it's like with the 12th of course, and the 4th's a nightmare right now. Hisagi's shouldering through probably, and the rest will manage. I'm probably going to owe Tetsuzaemon a drink after this, even if he is butting in on the 6th." Generally speaking, Renji figured warriors should handle their burdens on their own. Right now though, he figured a little teamwork might be of use.

"Uh huh," grunted Ikkaku. Despite Tetsuzaemon being as much a 'traitor' as Renji in leaving the 11th behind, they had kept in touch. Plus of course their series of battles yesterday. "Surprised Rangiku and the others aren't also helping him and blondie with helping out the other divisions."

"It's not necessary," growled Renji in defense of Izuru, before the anger drained away. "'Sides, they've got their own work cut out for 'em. It's not just the Fukutaichou doing our work and the Taichou's right now," –not that Ikkaku would know, since he skipped over being an Academy graduate, Kenpachi remained illiterate, and whatever paperwork he could not ignore he handed off for 5th seat Ayasegawa Yumichika to manage— "the rest've got to get the Seireitei mobilized for full-scale war. Provisions, fortifications, strategies, that sort of junk. Once that's outta the way, next they're going to be trying to coordinate things with the Shinigami in the Human World."

"What?" blinked Ikkaku. "Oh. Oooh. Without the 12th Division we can't communicate with our guys in the field." Wincing in distaste, "Wonder how many'll be dead because they couldn't call for help, or for measures to protect the Konpaku around them?"

Grimacing, Renji briefly distracted himself scooping up the last few grains of rice. "It'll be slow going once we can get it up and running again."

Ikkaku worked his jaw as he uncharacteristically thought out his next words, before reverting to his customary blunt tactics. "What about _you_ stepping up to be a Taichou?" he asked with mixed emotions.

Scowling, Renji shook his head and looked away. "You know what happened. I fought Kuchiki-taichou, and he beat me without a scratch. I'm not at that level yet."

Not to mention how helpless he had been against not only Aizen, but the rest of those vipers as well.

"Well, you'll get there." With that reassurance out of the way, Ikkaku stood up with the empty trays. "I'd better get back to make sure those idiots are doing it right, and you've got to rest more if you don't want Yachiru making you. Let's get a drink though, when the Taichou are back on their feet."

"Sure. And thanks."

Turning away, Ikkaku waved a dismissive hand. "Don't sweat it."

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Scowling, Shiba Kukaku, Clan Head of the Shiba (all two of whom were left), prowled down the hallways of the 4th Division. She had just checked up on Yoruichi to make sure her friend was alright, and was now eager to get back home. The Seireitei was stifling.

While some of the functioning Fukutaichou has expressed their thanks to her for defeating the brainwashed Gatekeepers, everyone else was pretending not to see her. For the majority, it was because of her clan's disgrace, while others had figured out she was the one who helped the Ryoka penetrate the 'impenetrable' barrier. Not to mention how she had gone on to subvert the only remaining loyal Gatekeeper (hopefully the others would recover from whatever Aizen had done to them), and get him help her break into Soul Society in turn. Probably a few more major felonies, if she bothered to think about it. For all she knew, since she had been here last, laws had been passed to outlaw fireworks.

Not that she had been expecting a "Thank you."

Ganju was still here, however she was in no rush to drag him home by the ear. From what she had wrangled out of Yoruichi, he had been the least productive brat of all the brats, which was a disgrace. The only reason she was not taking him back right now for remedial training was because Yoruichi, and her little minions, needed all the help they could get. Including moral support, and you could always count on a Shiba to lighten things up. Besides, it would be a gesture to her friend, telling her the Shiba's still had her back.

'Sides, even if her idiot little brother had failed to realize Aizen's role in Kaien's death, given the state of the Seireitei right now, it looked like the Shinigami were going to need every scrap of assistance they could get. Even shifting rubble around should burn some of the fat off of him.

(Although when she got her hands on Ganju, she would still be whipping him into a proper one-man army, no matter how many times she had to kick him.)

Rounding a corner, she caught sight of a certain someone disappearing around the right corner at an intersection up ahead. Kukaku paused to wait until they had enough of a lead, before continuing, having planned to turn left anyways. She was in no mood for another conversation with Kuchiki Rukia any time soon.

Not because of what she had done, only the memories associated with her.

She had been there to overhear –along with a bunch of busybodies, which meant the gossip and ever embellishing tales of it would be all over the Seireitei by now— about the kid's life, as Kuchiki Byakuya gave his (overdue) confession. Abandoned by her sister as a baby, she somehow had survived and thrived to become a Shinigami. Given what Kukaku remembered of the girl's adoptive brother/brother-in-law's cold fish attitude though, becoming a member of the Kuchiki Clan had probably not been a blessing, and that was not even getting into the whole 'trying to kill you' thing.

Her contempt for such behaviour was beyond words.

 _Family protects family_ , she swore. _If you can't do that, then you don't deserve to have her. Even taking a blow from Ichimaru for her does nothing to excuse that! Nothing can redeem what you tried to do!_

Not that it was any of her business or concern. She had other issues.

 _Heck, aside from the whole noble adoption thing, this kid's life-story is all too common in the farther Rukongai districts._

 _Although I am pretty curious as to how this 'Hisana' went from nothing, to marrying the most stuck-up noble of all_.

Not that she had let it affect her, when the girl had given her apology for her supposed role in Kaien's death. Or that Kukaku had eased up on hitting her when the dolt kept saying "sorry" for no real reason. It was done, and like she had said, she had already known the little Kuchki was not truly at fault, and forgave her.

Of course thinking of her own older brother, made her reflect further on a certain orange haired Ryoka boy. No matter how she struggled, she could not continue ignoring his resemblance to her departed brother. And by 'resemblance,' she meant, 'dye his hair black, and they're basically twins.' Except, it was not just his features, but his power and character as well. Scowls aside. _No, if there were some sort of connection between us, Yoruichi would've told me._

A dark little voice in her head, whispered though, _Not if Kisuke gave her reasons not to._

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

The futures of some hospital residents were better than others.

While Kenpachi had no more hands, there was no question how with his feet alone, he could beat to death pretty much any of the Fukutaichou. Good odds he could do it while facing them all at once too.

Hitsugaya-taichou's only serious injury was (relatively) simple chest trauma, and Unohana-taichou had been close at hand, so he was expected to be back to full health within the week.

Kuchiki-taichou's condition had been touch-and-go at times, particularly as his injuries had been aggravated by all the roiling Reiatsu from the battle with Aizen, and from how it had also kept medics away longer than they would have been regularly. Even if he became too injured to serve as an officer though, certainly he would continue to be relevant to the war as Clan Head of the Kuchiki. In that role, he could divert his family's impressive resources to help crush the man who had the impertinence to kill off their civilian government, and try and kill his adoptive sister.

Regrettably, things were murkier for one particular ex-Taichou and ex-Clan Head, with three remaining limbs.

With a sigh, Shihoin Yoruichi thought back to how everything had changed. About 110 years ago she had pushed Urahara Kisuke into becoming a Taichou –without asking him first, so what?— because she had known change was necessary. While she knew she was not as brilliant as him (not that she would ever admit it), she had already begun to see the writing on the wall. That _something_ was coming. Some _shift_ that would tear down 900 years of tradition and order. The only question was from which quarter it would appear. So she had pressured her best friend into becoming Taichou of the 12th Division, so he would be in a position of power and authority to help.

Now it was uncomfortably certain that whatever Great Changes were in store for the three worlds, Aizen was the one who would trigger them. Given how events were starting out, she was not particularly looking forward to what he did next. As matters stood, the man clearly held the advantage in this now-open conflict. Indeed, even if –when!— Seireitei won this war, she knew the lingering price would be astronomical for centuries to come.

Mentally grimacing, Yoruichi instinctively knew that when it came to shouldering the burden of the war, an unfortunate amount of it would rest solely upon the shoulders of Ichigo, and the rest of those kids, who had not seen the madman's Shikai. Those bright, _impossible_ kids.

She had gotten cocky, she knew that now. Time and arrogance had left her complacent and rusty, not even training herself against Kisuke and the others. Indeed, she was more than a little bit afraid he, Tessai, and the Visoreds were as bad if not worse off than her. Isshin was definitely well-below par, for all that he fought with his son.

Not that the current crop of Taichou were much better, as the events from a century ago meant most of them were promoted to their current ranks too early. The burdens of their new duties dampening their true potential before they could truly bring it out.

Nevertheless, those new punks were not that weak. Not in comparison to a bunch of Human teenagers. Right?

Right?

After all, a Taichou of the Gotei 13 was a monster in human flesh, conditioned to be the ultimate killing machine. Little Byakuya had been perfecting his swordsmanship and Shunpo, while studying under recognized masters, for well over a century. He had spent decade after decade hunting soul-eating monsters, honing himself in battle after battle.

(One scary and sobering truth that was not widely advertised, was that only Yamamoto, Unohana, Kyoraku, and Ukitake had successfully held their ranks for over a century. In the last two to three generations of Taichou, only one had been promoted to 0 Division, while the rest had retired due to the stress of their rank, been exiled . . . or died in battle.)

Except . . .

Except Kurosaki Ichigo had beaten Byakuya in terms of speed and swordsmanship with only a few _months_ under his belt. Even then, only his training against Kisuke and Zangetsu, really counted as anything truly serious, so _less than_ _a week!_ Before that, all he had was his childhood training at karate, and spending his teenage years in endless street fights.

If anything, he more closely resembled a younger, much more stable, Zaraki Kenpachi. Both of them relied heavily upon their overwhelming Reiryoku, instincts, keen observations, and strength and speed against those with vastly more experience and skill. Throwing everything at their enemies until they were overwhelmed by sheer power. What made Ichigo a superior fighter to the barbarian though, was that he learned at a frankly absurd rate. Even with Kisuke helping him along, achieving Shikai so quickly, followed by reaching the state where it was feasible to even consider it safe for using that special doll to bulldoze through Bankai training, was setting a pace which was ridiculous and frankly a little terrifying.

In all honestly, she had no idea if the reason for his _insane_ potential was because of his parents' respective heritages, making him the first true hybrid; because he was alive yet with the powers of the dead, and the living grow faster or something philosophical like that; or if it was merely an innate part of Ichigo, and he would have been this incredible regardless.

Whatever. _How_ he did it was less important right now than the fact he _was_ doing it.

Although, her overly-uptight student was not the only one she was both proud of, and worried for.

While it had come at the cost of his powers, Ishida Uryuu's own victory over Kurotsuchi-taichou had been nearly equally astounding. Some would even argue that defeating a Taichou at the cost of all your power was worth the price. Hopefully as a now _former_ Quincy, he would go overlooked by the Gotei 13.

Even Chad and Orihime had continued to totally embarrass the oldest and most elite military organization in existence, with only minimal difficulty. At not even twenty years old, Chad was a shoe-in for being a Fukutaichou, even if one of the weaker ones, and Orihime would be snapped up by the 4th Division if given half the chance. Moreover, both of them wielded powers that for all her centuries of experience, she neither recognized, nor truly understood.

So yes, even Yoruichi found their collective potential more than a little worrying . . . and was utterly terrified how other Shinigami might regard those kids. _Her_ students.

Fortunately they were too invaluable to the Gotei 13 right now, what with the looming war, horrible initial losses, and that it had been driven gruesomely home that all their preferred warriors were too helpless before Aizen's Shikai. So right now the children were a valuable war asset.

 _So it's up to me to ensure Yamamoto and the rest continue to appreciate having them as allies, and don't break them through abuse or neglect_.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

With a groan, Ichigo dragged himself to consciousness. Memory instantly returned, recalling how he had started to fade back on the execution hill thingy, while the 4th Division ran around.

Movement to the side caught his attention, and he looked up to see a very tall woman with silvery hair, smiling down on him. Although he caught a hint of wariness in her eyes. A little shamefully he remembered her as one of the three Fukutaichou he had taken down while saving Rukia. He shifted his body, and realized he was neither restrained, nor in pain. _Huh, guess I'm in a hospital._

"Did you sleep well?" asked the kindly woman.

For an instant an image in his mind –a dream?— flashed by of a white version of himself, with black and gold eyes, before it went away. "Huh?" he croaked, before clearing his throat to sound a little clearer. "I guess so."

She smiled again, gently helped him sit himself upright, and handed him a cup of water. As he sipped it, she told him, "Your friends are outside if you're up to it."

An honest grin slipped through a face that usually only scowled, and she quickly spun around to go to the door to open it up. A part of him thought he had caught her flushing though.

Shrugging it off, he looked around, and found the equivalent of a hospital shirt to pull over his bare chest and wrappings, just before Orihime, Chad, Ganju, and Ishida walked in. Thankfully the guys were free of bandages now, and Orihime was as chipper as ever.

Or at least tried to be.

She was clearly as exhausted as the others, with hints of stress and shadows in their expressions. He would also bet they had not slept since—huh. Alright, maybe they had gotten some sleep after all, depending how long it took him to recover.

"How're you guys doing?" he asked anyways. Since he figured it would help reassure them.

"Better than you," Ishida drawled, while the others also gave reassurances.

"How long was I out?" With injuries like that, he would bet at least a week or two. Although Hats-an'-Clogs had fixed him up pretty fast too.

"Just one day," chirped Orihime. "They've got lots of awesome doctors here! Oooooh, unless they didn't heal you, but cloned you, and put your brain in a rapidly grown body!? Or maybe an android!"

While she was acting like her usual bubbly, air-headed self, there was something . . . off, which made him suspect it was forced.

"I think I'm me," Ichigo uneasily reassured her. "But yeah, wow, glad to know I'm gonna be okay." Unfortunately, this meant his friends had likely been working non-stop without sleep since . . . since probably that night at the Shiba household.

"By some miracle!" a happily familiar voice calls out. Rukia barged into the room, reading through a clipboard. "Ichigo you moron! Do you even realize what you're still recovering from!? Too many injuries to name, and how'd you even manage to put pressure on every bone in your body!? According to Kotetsu-fukutaichou, you're lucky they didn't all snap!"

"Oh!" gasped Orihime. "Kurosaki-kun, I'm sorry, I was too exhausted to finish healing you! Let me do some more!"

"No worries, Inoue," he reassured her. "You took care of the worst of it." He turned a glare onto Rukia. "Don't complain about what it took to save your life. And none of that nonsense about not wanting it either!"

Scowling, she was about throw another insult at him, when she noticed Ganju. Ichigo was shocked as the usually overly self-confident woman flinched, only for the boisterous man to quickly boast, "Yeah! Seireitei would've been toast if we hadn't come knocking in your door! Traitorous Taichou and all! Embarrassing!"

Sucking in a deep breath, Rukia visibly accepted what he was doing, and became a dignified noblewoman once more, and gave a short bow. "That is correct. The Gotei 13 owes you a debt of gratitude." She pulled a sheaf of papers out from under one arm. "We'd appreciate it if you'd also write out any additional observations you might have. The smallest detail may be invaluable."

A moment of strained silence fell across the room, with Ichigo awkwardly rubbing his head and finally breaking it. "So they've already put you to work?"

"Yes," she nodded as if it were natural, yet there was a slight tension about her shoulders. If he did not know her as well as he did –and should he be grateful Byakuya did not know she had been living in his closet?— he may have missed it. "Ukitake-taichou regularly becomes ill, so the 13th Division is used to operating in his absence."

"Interesting," noted Ishida. "Well, glad you Shinigami are on top of that."

While he did not fully get what the Quincy's problem was, believing he was over his issues with Rukia, Ichigo figured it was best to change the topic. Surprisingly, it was Orihime who spoke up next. "By the way, Rukia, we never heard what it was Aizen blew up. The huge explosion I mean. How important was it?"

"It was their Research and Development Institute," answered Ishida, a glimmer of gleeful malice flickering through his eyes, before his iron self-control reasserted itself. Evidently he had taken the effort to learn what had happened. "Basically he took out their most advanced technology in one shot."

 _Well that was weird_ , thought Ichigo about that reaction. He knew better than to pry though, as it would get him nowhere. _By the sound of it, Aizen wanted to cripple the Seireitei. He wasn't planning on doing so originally, so whatever happened with that portal of his, and fighting off all the Taichou, must've really shaken him. So he wanted to make it harder for the Gotei 13 to counter-strike. Except, why not just finish off the Taichou?_

Briefly he thought about it some more, before shaking off that line of speculation. Dude was clearly just nuts.

 _Still, for all that Soul Society looks all feudal, the Shinigami seem to have some pretty advanced technology to help them function. Like those phones._ For all that he complained to Rukia about how that her Denreishi-whatever was too unreliable about detecting Hollows, deep down he knew that it was pretty impressive. To say nothing about being able to communicate across dimensions. "You guys can still get by, right?"

Shaking her head in frustration, their resident Shinigami explained the problem. "Stuff like our Denreishinki—"

 _That's the word!_

"—were all stored there. And we lost our ability to monitor our sensors in the World of the Living. Until Division 12 pulls itself back together, we're back to how we were doing things over a century ago."

"Well," beamed Orihime, "I'm sure you'll manage."

Nodding, Rukia solemnly declared, "The Gotei 13 will protect the peace and prosperity of the Seireitei, and the World of the Living, no matter the cost."

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Ishida Uryu resisted the urge to either roll his eyes, or shout at his gullible frie—companions. Honestly, it was not really their fault. Inoue saw the best in everyone, and Kurosaki was too thickheaded to think about what was important.

His eyes glanced to the side, seeing Ganju was predictably sullen, no surprise there. He had seen what life was like in the Rukongai.

 _Kuchiki should know that too, as she apparently grew up there. Denial? Or maybe living here in the gleaming white city makes you want to forget what life's like for everyone else? To help fit in by forgetting your past?_

 _The Shinigami bluster on about how their work is essential, that they are sending lost Souls on to a peaceful place. That it is better than the World of the Living. Now we know every single one of them is a liar. A liar, and unwilling to make the afterlife a place worth being in._

Next Uryu's gaze flitted over to Sado, and while the young giant stayed still, his own eyes seemed to sparkle with grim acknowledgement for a moment. That the Shinigami were no longer trying to kill them all, and were acting friendly, did not mean the Quincy – _Former Quincy! You saw to that!_ snapped a bitter part of himself— was willing to forget his earlier encounters with them. Seems like Sado also understood, possibly in relation to how he had ended up in prison himself. Alas, the other teen was too entrenched in following Kurosaki's lead.

So it fell to him to be the voice of reason.

Kurosaki was a power now, and he knew the Shinigami would never let him simply go about his merry way. Especially given how desperate they were now.

"How well do you think your war will go, given what Aizen's capable of?" he cynically demanded.

The older woman flushed, yet did not snap out any prideful Shinigami propaganda like a part of him expected. Instead she said, "There are only three of them, and next time we will not be taken by surprise.

"Besides, it's obvious things are not as perfect between him and the Hollows, as he wanted to pretend. It's quite possible we'll find out later that when he went to confront them, a mob of them overwhelmed and ate him."

"Which means said mob will be more powerful than ever," he retorted, adjusting his glasses. "But yes, you are right that it was very strange what happened."

Grimacing, Kurosaki nodded. "Even if it was by surprise, that attack was the first time I saw him actually struggling. I was useless against Aizen."

"Well that's only because you were already so tired and beaten up!" gushed Inoue.

Giving the slightest grunt, Kurosaki looked away. Yet Uryu still caught that haunted look. _Good. Hopefully this means he understands what we're getting involved in._

Personally, given his training as a Quincy, he had long been desensitized to death. Dealing with Hollows invariably involved corpses to one degree or another, to say nothing of his Sensei . . . That said, the tension, violence, and sacrifices involved in this rescue mission had pushed him beyond his limits. Moreover, he knew Orihime had endured the same, her gentle spirit being unsuited for this sort of invasion.

"Well personally, I do not really care," he claimed. A lie. He did very much care about what was happening with someone so ridiculously powerful. It was only that he was now too weak to contribute in any way at all. "This is Shinigami business, and I daresay I've accomplished my goal in coming here and proving my strength."

Kurosaki was practically blind when it came to sensing Reiatsu, likely Ganju too, Sado and Inoue were too untrained, and Kuchiki was still recovering. They would not know the truth.

"This is no longer my concern. Or any of ours really."

To keep them safe.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Despite what they might think, Ichigo had still caught the look between Chad and Ishida, and had a pretty good idea what they were thinking. Honestly, he probably agreed with most of it.

His first encounter with Shinigami other than Rukia involved getting stabbed twice through the chest, all because she had risked everything to save his sisters. Oh, and saving him and Goat-Face, but mostly his sisters. He pitied the Hollow that ate Goat-Face actually.

Little had improved his opinion of them, aside from exceptions like Hanataro. So yeah, out of all the Shinigami he had met, the only ones he had not had issues with from the get-go were a medic whose comrades treated him like a wet rag, and his trigger-happy, violence prone, midget roommate.

Everyone else . . . had not painted an overall positive picture. Like the people living in what were –to his modern sensibilities— the equivalent of shacks next to the towering, gleaming splendor of the city. How all the residents there regarded Shinigami as bullies, which was all kinds of wrong.

And frankly, any organization where the members accepted somebody like Kenpachi in a position of serious authority had some serious screws loose.

The difference between him and his friends though, was that he was not going to fixate over it even after the fighting was over, because it was simply not his problem. He could agonize over fixing up the afterlife when he was dead. Literally.

Besides, once you got to know some of the people here better, they were actually pretty okay. Like Renji. He had only had to cut the guy up a bunch for him to get better.

Regardless, right now Ichigo was more worried about getting back home to make sure his family was doing alright, getting Rukia out of here if it was still necessary, and making sure Kon had not ruined his reputation while using his Human body.

Maybe catch a break for a while.

Unconsciously his hand flew to his gut where there should be a mark after feeling a blade cut straight through his flesh and just miss his spine. Ishida and Rukia missed it because of their pride-stuffed talk, with Orihime and Ganju watching, yet he knew Chad caught it. Chad would keep quiet though. He would understand the utter sense of powerless Ichigo had felt up against Aizen, even worse than the night Rukia was taken away, because he had gotten so much _stronger_ , and it had meant _nothing_.

Even seeing how effortlessly the rest of the Taichou were decimated, did nothing to alleviate the shame of defeat.

Fortunately it was all water under the bridge now.

 _After all, while there may be bigger monsters than Hollows out there, including even those Menos Grande, I should be more than able to protect my town now. Not like I'm going to be meeting any stronger Hollows, and Aizen'll be fixated on Soul Society._

Speaking of which . . .

He tuned back into the conversation, only for Ishida to bring up another reference to how badly he fared against Aizen. _Idiot did that on purpose_ , he knew. He managed to blurt something out, before turning away in embarrassment. The stupid Quincy then went on about how what happened next with Aizen and the Shinigami was no longer his business, which was the perfect segue for him.

"Rukia, when we go back home, do you want to come with us?"

She gaped at him in shock for some reason. Which was weird, because that was what the whole 'Invade the Afterlife and Fight an Army' bit had been about. It was her choice to stay or not.

"I . . ." her eyes flicked with uncertainty until she cleared her throat, regained her usual poise. "Ichigo," she said, "I would very much love to go with you. Back to Karakura. Except, I'm staying here. I have a duty here, and I swore an oath to serve in the Gotei 13."

A part of him was surprised that she would want to remain, while a greater part was sad that they would be parting ways. Despite this, his smile –another actual smile from Kurosaki Ichigo— was sincere. "Okay. That's good."

"What?"

His other friends were even more stunned, yet the world seemed to only be these two friends talking.

"I mean . . . if that's what you want. If," the memory of the tears trying to escape her, as she was being lead back to the Seireitei for punishment, flashed across his mind, "you really want to stay here . . . then, you should stay."

Sure, there had been that whole attempt to have her executed, except not all the Shinigami had tried to do it. Moreover, if Rukia thought it was water under the bridge, that she was safe and wanted to be here, then it was no longer his concern.

She gave him a small, relieved smile.

"So I guess you're planning on helping to go after Aizen then?" Ichigo bluntly added, ruining the moment.

"Of course!" snapped Rukia, showing no hesitation. "That traitor's going to pay!" She blew out a breath before continuing, "Not that it's going to be easy, I admit. You saw how strong he was. Still!" Eyes flashing, she swore, "The Seireitei will bring him to Justice!"

"Sounds good," he nodded. "Just keep it out of Karakura."

She gave him a level look of understanding. "You're staying out of it."

"'He which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made,'" he quoted.

Scoffing, she shook her head. "Let me guess, more of that nonsense Shakespeare?"

"Yeah."

"First quote of his which actually makes any sort of sense."

A part of him felt like asking if the Bard was in 'the Undiscovered Country,' before deciding a part of him really did not want to know. At the very least, the man's legendary work had not continued on in the afterlife.

"You do know he may come after you," she warned.

"Why would he?" Ishida asked. "He only saw us as pawns of Urahara, and not threats at all."

"Never mind that!" exploded Ganju. "Ichigo! What about him framing Rukia!? Or nearly cutting you in half!?"

Shrugging, Ichigo just glanced away briefly. "Hey, I'm alive and that's what counts. Besides, not like he was the only one causing trouble for Rukia."

Chad said nothing, yet he felt his friend's approval. Ishida was pushing back his glasses, looking elsewhere. Probably pretending to ignore the conversation since it was 'no longer his business.' Inoue beamed. "You really don't hold a grudge, do you Kurosaki-kun?" she cheerfully observed.

While Ganju was shaking his head in disbelief, it looked like there was a glimmer of appreciation there as well.

Rukia merely groaned and rubbed her face in her palms. "You're going to get yourself killed before you're twenty, and then I'll be stuck with you around here for centuries."

Ignoring her nonsense, because there was no way he was going to let himself die any time soon, he stayed fixed on the important subject. "C'mon Rukia," he said with a grin that was probably weaker than intended. "It's not like Aizen's gonna care about Karakura, right?"

With a huff, she crossed her arms. "No, you're right. If he does do anything with the World of the Living, he'll fixate on the bigger cities, where more Konpaku are vulnerable. You should be fine."

"I must admit, I'm surprised," Ishida coldly said, adjusting his glasses. "I would have assumed that after recent events, the Gotei 13 would be eager for another Taichou-class fighter's assistance against Aizen.

Briefly she hesitated at that possibility, before shaking her head in denial. "No. Ichigo's still alive, and frankly only a child."

"Hey!"

Ignoring said child, "I'm sure brother and the others are already planning how they will take care of Aizen without you guys. The Taichou are the strongest and wisest for a reason after all."

Rukia paid careful attention to the reactions of her friends and saviours, to be sure they knew she was telling the truth, and it was going to be okay. Ishida appeared skeptical, which was understandable given his experience with Shinigami. Orihime was relieved, while Chad . . . was Chad. As for her former roommate, he also seemed more relaxed now that he did not have to worry about people trying to pressure him into a war—he had better things to do.

"Besides," she smirked, "it's not like you'd be much use, Ichigo. You'd just rush in blindly like an idiot!"

"Why you—!"

With that, the conversation degeneration into the oddly comforting exchanging of insults.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Personally I find it very interesting that while Kisuke is the guy viewed as the shadowy, mastermind in the present day, in the past it was Yoruichi who got things moving. Was maneuvering her best friend and former subordinate into such an exalted rank, without even asking him, originally part of some grander scheme by the Shihoin Head?**

 **Oh, and her little thought about Yamamoto damaging the kids, was inspired by** ** _Schlock Mercenary_** **.**

 **.**

 **The detail on how few Taichou have lasted over a century, is something I find easily overlooked, but really drives home how hazardous life in the Gotei 13 really is. While the Shinigami get a** ** _lot_** **of (deserved) flak for the all the numerous failings of the Seireitei, there is no denying that they are putting their lives on the line by signing up.**

 **And** ** _yes_** **, that little, easily forgotten fact, helps emphasize that yes, Yamamoto, Unohana, Ukitake, and Kyoraku, are dangerous, dangerous people.**

 **.**

 **For those of you who are disappointed to see Ganju has not already been pushed aside as irrelevant (as he was in canon), I understand. Personally I see him as another one of Kubo's characters who had such potential, and yet failed to live up to it. Even if he had not decided that Ichigo was a Shiba at that point, and Ganju was overly similar to Ishida with his hatred of Shinigami, and fighting style of using various unique weapons, we have a guy here who fought with swords and explosives (fireworks)! Swords and explosives people! What's not to like!?**

 **But yeah, he is small fry by this point. Imagine him versus Zoro? X-D**

 **.**

 **Apparently canon Ichigo is a big fan of Shakespeare . . .**

 **Honestly, that is one detail I kind of wish was explored more in the manga. Sure, I personally usually have trouble understanding** ** _what_** **the Bard is saying, but it would have added some nice extra depth to his character.**

 **.**

 **The reflections on Soul Society by Ichigo and Co. were inspired by "Protégé," by black. , and Akaluan's "Flight of the Dragon" series. Ironic given how both authors have opposite approaches to portraying the Gotei 13 :-P**

 **.**

 **So yeah, even with the Seireitei cut off from everybody else, things are already starting to go AU as they realize killing Aizen is going to be more difficult than they thought in canon.**

 **.**

 ** _Finally, I just want to say how exited and honoured I am that of the Bleach-One Piece crossovers, this fic has the third highest number of Reviews after only five chapters! :'-)_ **

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 **Next Chapter: "[Spoilers]"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	7. Omake 1

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, mellra, and MasterQwertster, whose own stories and art you should definitely check out! Also thanks to other readers who have given incredible help, like scl04, BlantonM, Crossovernaru, KyonSmith13, and Creation Teller.

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

HUNTER202002

This following chapter is all thanks to you . . .

.

Nobody

Really appreciate hearing how well the different fandoms come together!

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Nobody Styles

Well, for starters I am honestly unsure if I will be having the Arrancar with Zanpakuto spirits. While similarities between them and Shinigami, their swords are presented as being pure seals for their power, nothing more. No indications in canon of such spirits either.

. . . I can see it now. Zoro and Kenpachi hacking at each other, with Unohana standing there constantly healing them until the entire area is coated in blood and body organs as the two men fight it out for blood, violence, and to bed the beautiful healer, with all of them becoming increasingly ecstatic the longer it goes on. Until finally one of them delivers a mortal blow to the other (Zoro) that even she cannot heal, which leads to, yeah, that, amongst the carnage . . . I may need brain bleach now :-P

Oh, I have PLANS with the Visoreds. But yes, if they met on friendly terms, Luffy and Mashiro would hit it right off!

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

doraemax

Yeah, many readers were hoping for Straw Hat shenanigans-and for good reason, as One Piece is the superior series. However, this story is not just about them. After all, it would quickly become a bland story if they were the sole individuals driving the plot, with the Bleach cast doing nothing but reacting. Make no mistake, they will be active participants in what is to come, and while the Straw Hats may have started the AU ripples, many of decisive decisions to come will also be made by Ichigo and Co. and the Shinigami, and it was important to lay the foundation as to HOW they will come to those opinions-for better or worse. Plus, it was a good opportunity to show the beginnings of said AU ripples. Finally, there is character development I want to see done for the Bleach cast, and it would be impractical and unlikely for them to be all connected to our favourite pirates.

Yep, Yoruichi was the Head of Clan Shihoin, which Kisuke grew up within, which would have had an impact upon their relationship. He was still the guy who did all the different plans and contingencies, but she comes off as being the one who would take the actual initiative for serious stuff. However at some point during their exile he grew to become the man in charge, and more active.

Not sure about how Shakespeare would help Ichigo's fighting philosophy, but I confess I am not really all that familiar with the Bard.

Got a few plans for Ganju. ;-) Open to suggestions though.

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

dani1361

Glad you enjoyed seeing how the Bleach cast was handling things. :-) But yeah, many readers were hoping for Straw Hat shenanigans-and for good reason, as One Piece is the superior series. However, this story is not just about them. After all, it would quickly become a bland story if they were the sole individuals driving the plot, with the Bleach cast doing nothing but reacting. Make no mistake, they will be active participants in what is to come, and while the Straw Hats may have started the AU ripples, many of decisive decisions to come will also be made by Ichigo and Co. and the Shinigami, and it was important to lay the foundation as to HOW they will come to those opinions-for better or worse. Plus, it was a good opportunity to show the beginnings of said AU ripples. Finally, there is character development I want to see done for the Bleach cast, and it would be impractical and unlikely for them to be all connected to our favourite pirates.

You will be seeing a lot more of both to come, which I am sure you will enjoy :-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 7: Omake 1

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 **What if: The Straw Hats reached Hueco Mundo later?**

 **(So this is an AU of the overall fic, not a continuation of the previous chapter.)**

(As you will see, this idea grew to the point it really required its own chapter.)

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Languidly, Aizen reclined in his seat, awaiting his newest guests. Shortly after Inoue Orihime had been brought to Las Noches, invaders had breached the outer wall, and had proceeded to make their way through his fortress.

His Espada had been scattered around as per protocol, and unfortunately those who had been in the way of the intruders, or had moved to engage them, had all been picked off one by one. _A miscalculation perhaps_ , he acknowledged. _No matter, soon these newcomers will serve me in turn._ _Given the strength they have displayed, they will be quite valuable for the inevitable response by Kurosaki and the Seireitei. After a little discipline to learn their place._

 _I believe one of their first chores will be cleaning up the mess they've made in blasting through my walls, rather than following the corridors. I'll adjust the labyrinth to make it more difficult of course._

A minute later, Gin stalked into the room, taking up his spot standing beside Aizen. Thoughtfully, he had brought some tea and snacks. "Why thank you, Gin. I missed lunch after all."

"No problem, Aizen-taichou. Shame about ol'Baraggan though."

"Yes. Although he failed to use his Resurreccion in time."

The fool's hubris had predictably been his downfall. Whoever these newcomers were, they kept their Reiatsu tightly contained, hiding their true potential, and making people underestimate them until it was too late. A depressing number of his followers had recently died that way. Oh well, an object lesson for the survivors.

"Sure yah don't wanna call in Ulquiorra? I mean, tha only reason he isn't fightin', is 'cause 'is palace is away from the Ryoka's path. What with yah tellin' 'em to remain in their own palaces."

"It's of no concern. Ah, and here they are now."

The door was kicked open, and in sauntered an assortment of Arrancar. Natural ones at that, which was indeed fascinating. Given how calm they were, and the lack of blood, or damage to the rags they wore as clothes, it meant they had not sustained any serious harm. Yet they had still torn their way through all the Perfect Arrancar he had spent so long assembling and crafting. Fascinating indeed. Yes, they would prove immensely valuable after he broke them in.

"Greetings," he suavely said, picking up a little sandwich. "Welcome to Las Noches."

"Who're you?" asked the one in the front, wearing a straw hat of all things.

"I am Aizen Sosuke, King of Hueco Mundo," was the polite reply as if they had not just barged into his domain. His unconcerned attitude was clearly unnerving some of these Hollows, although their apparent leader was equally unfazed. "What can I do for you?"

Tilting his head with an idiotic expression on his face, the spokesman asked, "What are you?"

"I? I am a Shinigami. I do believe, however, you already encountered poor Kaname on your way here. He was a Shinigami too."

"Dark skin, long 'air, an' a visor," Gin helpfully prompted.

"Oh. We thought that was part of a mask fragment or something."

"No, he was a Shinigami." Ah, now more and more of the Hollows were becoming concerned by his own utter lack of distress. Idly, Aizen wondered what the next moronic question would be.

"Do Shinigami poop?"

The total and utter absurdity of it caught Aizen off guard just as he was chewing a bite of sandwich, a chunk of it going down his throat.

Horrified, he found himself choking, and staggered up, grasping his throat as he struggled to breathe. He glanced at Gin who was staring at him stupefied, utterly useless. _How do I dislodge food again!?_ he desperately tried to remember. _Right, ram my stomach against a table!_

Except there was none in this Spartan room of his. By the time he thought to use the side of his chair, his legs had already given out.

Vision going black, he collapsed to the ground, without anyone moving to save him.

Aizen Sosuke died alone.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Huh," mused Luffy, before turning to the guy with white hair. "Now what?"

Eyes fully open, Gin stared at them with equal mixtures of disbelief, fear, and utter worship.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

"Come, woman."

"Eep!" Orihime jumped in the air as she realized Ulquiorra had silently entered her room. _My cell!_ she furiously reminded herself. She was a prisoner, not one of Aizen's servants. "Where am I going?" she asked.

"Come," he flatly repeated.

Knowing there was no sense in arguing or resisting, she dutifully followed, even if she tried more questions. "What was happening earlier, with all that Reiatsu flying around?" None of it had been familiar to her, and besides, she knew there was no rescue party coming after her. Not after having had to follow Ulquiorra's instructions on how to leave her friends and family behind.

"You're about to find out."

They went through a maze of endless corridors, before finally arriving at the throne room she had been in earlier. Except now there were some . . . alterations.

To all appearances, someone had given a bunch of pre-teens several different buckets of bright-coloured paint, hopped them up on sugar, and told them there would be no parent supervision.

Orihime was frankly awestruck as she took in the riot of mismatched colours.

"Lord Luffy," Ulquiorra called out. "What is to be done with the woman?"

"Stop calling me that. And what woman?"

Again Orihime jumped in the air in shock, except she also caught the sense that Ulquiorra was hiding he was equally surprised. Spinning around, she found herself looking at someone about her height, wearing a straw hat, and carrying a bowl of . . . popcorn? She could tell he was an Arrancar given the white fragment on his face, and the hole, yet he was certainly not acting like any Hollow she had met before.

(It had already been several seconds, and so far there had been a distinct lack of threats or homicidal behaviour.)

"She was Aizen's prisoner."

Wait. "'Was,'" she repeated. "What happened to him? Aizen?"

"There is a new ruler of Las Noches," was all Ulquiorra said.

"He was pretty stupid, and didn't chew his food properly," elaborated the apparent Lord Luffy. If he did indeed kill Aizen, she had to agree to Ulquiorra's choice of title. "So why're you here?"

"Yeah," said another voice, and Orihime took a step back in fright. The man ambling towards her reminded her dangerously of Kenpachi, and not just because he had one eye scarred shut. _Though I think Ichigo said Kenpachi just wears the eye-patch for a handicap_. "I mean," the newcomer said as he continued to stalk over, "we can't just have freeloaders hanging about. Are you good for anything?"

"Uhm . . ."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Later

Gasping, Ichigo fell to his knees for a break.

It spoke a lot of how exhausted they all were, that Rukia had not hit him, while berating him for being weak.

Him, Ishida, and Chad, had all set out to Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime from Aizen, with Renji and Rukia joining them later. Those two had arrived pretty close by fortunately, even several hours later, because apparently Hats-an'-Clogs was able to lock on the first party's Reiatsu and dump the reinforcements closer. Then the five of them had continued onwards.

That was a week ago. Maybe. It was hard to tell when there was a moon and stars 24/7, and none of them brought a watch or phone.

What they _did_ know, was that they had been running through this stupid desert for _days!_ Honestly, they wished they had snagged Kisuke's flying carpet or something. Or found some convenient Hollow that could make the trip across the desert in only a matter of hours.

(Although what were the odds of that last one happening?)

If he went Bankai, and used Shunpo, he could probably make the trip quickly, yet it would mean going in alone while leaving the others behind. Even worse, raising his Reiatsu like that would probably alert all the Espada he was coming, and exhaust a dangerous chunk of his reserves.

Panting, his once impeccably tailored white outfit having submitted to grime and sweat stains, Ishida finally voiced what they had all been thinking since day one. "Maybe we should have planned this out a bit more carefully."

"Doesn't matter," Ichigo bit out. "We're almost there." Indeed, they were only a few dozen meters away before they had all collapsed.

Honestly, he did not know how they had lasted so long. Not like there was food or water here. Ishida and Rukia theorized they were all somehow living off all the Reishi in the air, but were also equally sure that it was unhealthy to do that any longer than absolutely necessary. Even Ichigo was noticing his Reiryoku was getting low.

Fortunately, they had not run into any Hollows along the way.

After they were all rested, the rescue force made their way to the wall. Without saying a word, Ichigo drew his sword alongside Renji, each ready to vent some frustration by breaking their way in. Once they were inside, they could use their hard-earned experience storming the Seireitei to save one friend to now save another!

"Over there!"

The rest of the group whirled with weapons raised to see Chad pointing at something hovering in the air, seemingly staring at them.

It was Ishida who caught on, firing before he even explained. "It's a surveillance drone," he yelled while it exploded. "They know we're here!"

Without a moment to lose now that they had lost the element of surprise, Ichigo and Renji furiously started to work on the wall.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Well, that answers that," rumbled a resolute Jinbe, standing in the middle of the new command center.

It was a recent addition that let someone oversee all the defenses of Las Noches, monitor the locations of the residents when under attack, and redirect their forces accordingly.

Tapping a button, his voice went out over the (also) new intercom system. "Attention everyone. The party of five we detected approaching a few days ago, have proven themselves hostile. You know the plan. Engage."

Turning to Sanji, he said, "Make sure Lilynette has Starrk awake for reinforcements, and take your people to the other side of Las Noches in case this is a diversion. Possibly for some real scouts."

Nodding, the blonde headed off, figuring that was the most likely scenario. For all that the orange-haired kid supposedly had 'Bankai,' it beggared belief that they honestly thought they could invade the entire fortress on their own.

 _Well, Luffy or Mosshead might be dumb enough. Except they've got people helping them, who'd make sure they did it smart_.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"What was that?"

Ichigo and Renji paused as now Ishida seemed concerned and looking around. The former knew his friend well enough to know that when the prideful guy actually seemed worried, it was pretty bad. "What!?" he snapped.

"I thought I heard—"

All along the looming outer wall, seams suddenly appeared in formerly pristine surface, and massive doors opened up. Three to the left. Three to the right.

Out of the darkness emerged six massive metal figures, each easily the size of Gillians.

"Wh-what are those!?" gasped Rukia.

"Mechas," breathed Ichigo, as he took in the bristling weapons.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Franky," grunted Jinbe, as the man in question sauntered into the command center.

"What's up? I hear you're activating my SUPER little babies!"

"When you said you'd installed a few defenses, why didn't you mention that you somehow –and no, I don't want to know how you made all those, all along the walls, in just a week— created giant robots?"

Looking at his friend as if he were crazy, Franky simply said, "Huh, what're you talking about? Those things're piloted! I just taught Rudbornn how to do it, and poof! All his mini-me's know too! They did great during the simulations.

"As for the how, well, I had all of Pinkie's old infrastructure, and other stuff Aizen had laying around to work with to make it easier. Plus lots of eager helpers for the menial stuff. Besides, what else would I build to keep our new pad secure? A moat? That'd be ridiculous!"

Sighing, Jinbe just shook his head.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"This is from the Living World!?" shrieked Renji, while his Bankai was contemptuously swatted aside by an oversized hand.

"No! I mean yes! It's complicated!" yelped Ichigo, also in Bankai as he dodged around a massive laser beam (or maybe it was a Cero?), firing off Getsuga Tensho after Getsuga Tensho. Unfortunately, they were only denting the monstrosities.

Small dents on that scale. _I need to put more power in them, except I don't have the spare time to charge!_

Rukia had gotten in close to one of them, and was trying to pin or trip it with giant columns of ice. In response, another of the mechas unleashed a flamethrower that unleashed a massive torrent of fire. "Rukia!"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, appearing beside him with a Shunpo, left sleeve singed. That was too close. Meanwhile the mecha she had tried to take down was mobile again as the ice melted.

A more distant one unleashed a barrage of missiles which Ishida shot down, only for the detonation of the explosions to still send everyone but Ichigo tumbling off their feet. "This is ridiculous!" he yelled. He was almost ready to use his Hollow mask, except he knew he needed to save it for the real fights later with the Espada. For Ulquiorra.

Also, the mask was pretty draining, and he remained more than a bit worn out from the seemingly-endless trip through the desert.

Suddenly he felt himself being dragged forward. Quickly searching, he realized one of the mechas was sucking up air and sand into one of its gun barrels. "Oh no no no no!"

Turning up his speed, he grabbed Chad, while Ishida snatched Rukia, with Renji right beside them. Running flat out, they fought against the suction.

Suddenly it stopped.

"Huh, guess it filled up," Renji said, feeling relieved.

Ishida on the other hand, looked outright terrified.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"Doesn't the sand cause trouble?" Jinbe idly asked.

"Nah," Frankly replied, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's all sealed up tight inside. Besides, dontcha know what happens when a whole wave of sand hits you at hundreds of kilometers per hour?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"RUN!" screamed the Quincy, just as the oversized air cannon fired.

 **K**

 **AA**

 **BBB**

 **OOOO**

 **OOOOO**

 **MMMMM**

 **!-!-!-!-!-!-!**

Acting on pure instinct, Ichigo managed to hold onto Chad even as the sheer concussive force hit them, and grains of sand tore at their skin. Shielding his friend as best as he could as they flew through the air, calling on a wave of Reiatsu to shield them.

He never even noticed they had hit the ground until the world stopped spinning. Groaning, he pushed himself up, and seeing Chad motionless, checked his Reiatsu, and was relieved to see his friend was alive. Granted he may be out-cold in hostile territory, yet he seemed largely unhurt.

Movement out of the corner of his eye made him realize Ishida was approaching, limping and clutching one shoulder. His mouth was moving without any words coming out, only for Ichigo to notice the loud ringing in his ears.

With some effort, he pulled himself to his feet, seeing Renji check on Rukia, who was also unconscious.

Grimacing, Renji pulled his Hihio Zabimaru back around him, the bone snake's segments defensively circling around him, reading to strike against whatever attacked them next.

There was a tall man behind Renji.

Eyes bugging out, Ichigo pointed behind the Fukutaichou, who whirled to see the figure facing away from him. Seemingly ignoring the Shinigami, the man merely sheathed his cane-sword—

—and blood burst out of Renji, leaving him to collapse.

"Getsuga Tensho!" roared Ichigo, unleashing a vicious blast of black and red energy, only for the attacker to dodge to the side.

Brow also furrowed in a protective rage he would later deny, Ishida drew back his bow—

—and his arms and jaw went slack as his eyes bugged out, before dropping as if a puppet whose strings were cut. On the back of his dirty white outfit, Ichigo could see a growing stain of blood in the middle of his back. Standing over him was a raven-haired woman, tucking something into her long, pristine white sleeve. She gave him a cold smile that sent shivers down his own spine.

Before he could vent his fury though, his reflexes made him spin around to block Ulquiorra's outstretched hand, Zangetsu failing to even cut the bare skin. The sheer force of it sent Ichigo stumbling back several meters.

With effort he stabilized himself, glaring at his enemy, only to catch something out of the corner of his eye.

An Arrancar he could only describe as a 'drag queen' with purple hair, was holding Rukia and Renji's Zanpakuto, and what looked like Ishida's Quincy medallion. The owners of them were in the arms of a guy with a van-dyke beard and mustache, a man with a massive afro, and a woman in a puffy dress. In a blur, they and his friends were gone.

For all that Ichigo wanted to scream at them to come back, he knew he had to stay focused on Ulquior—

Grimmjow was with him. Only he had two arms again, along with an all-too familiar, nasty sneer.

Along with a dark-skinned woman with wild, blonde hair.

Not to mention the tall man with the cane-sword and the raven-haired lady were still here.

And lest he forget, there was still those mechas to worry about.

Hefting his sword in readiness with one hand, while reaching to activate his mask with the other, he muttered to himself, "Alright, maybe we should've planned this out a bit more."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Franky and Jinbe were outright wincing at the scene before them. Honestly, it had never even been a fight, and had now devolved into a thrashing that was more embarrassing for the Arrancar –barring Ulquiorra— than anything.

"I love me an underdog," Franky groaned as the kid went flying –again— in a spray of blood, "but I wish the carrot-top would just stay down. How many times have they even hit him over the head?"

"He's determined to save his friends, even after they took away his Zanpakuto," noted Jinbe with a touch of respect. "Unfortunately, there is nothing more he can do now."

"Yeah. Oh, wait. There he goes."

"Hmhmm. Took them long enough to just sever his muscles."

"Looks like he can't use that mask without his hands either, which is convenient." While none of their friends or allies had bothered with their Resurreccions, it helped to be cautious.

Seeing as how it was all over now, Jinbe tapped a few controls. "Luffy, the invaders have been dealt with. Can you sense anyone else?"

" _No, no one at all. Looks like it's just those five. Which is stupid_." They could both imagine Luffy's pout as he tried to imagine sending in such an ill-equipped team.

(Which yes, was probably hypocritical.)

(Counter-argument: Luffy's friends would have done something to ensure the plan was halfway sane.)

"Agreed," grunted Jinbe. "We'll have to figure it out later though."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"—!"

"—o!"

"—go!"

"ICHIGO!"

"Waaah! I'm up!" The teen in question jolted awake at Rukia's yelling, only to find himself strapped to a table. Straining his neck, he looked around and was relieved to see the rest of his friends. Sure, they were also restrained with none of their weapons in sight, and no sign of Orihime either, yet what mattered was that they were still alive. Like himself, they were all wrapped up in bandages, so someone had obviously taken the time to heal them. Given how even Ishida's arms and legs were tied in place, it must mean they also healed his severed spine.

Whoever 'they' are.

 _Oh no . . ._

"What happened to us?" he quietly asked, unsure if they were being overheard, trying to sort through his memories while pushing down a growing dread.

"We got schooled like a bunch of Academy students," deadpanned a shamefaced Renji.

"How'd this happen!?"

"Basic strategy?" Ishida cuttingly answered. "Strike hard with overwhelming force. They even felt secure enough to take us in alive."

Pausing, Ichigo had to concede to that. Aizen was clearly a lot more on the ball than the Seireitei. He had taken note of their previous experience in rescuing their friends, and flawlessly anticipated them accordingly. "And I led you guys right into it like a cocky idiot," he groaned.

"EXCUSE ME!?" snapped a furious Rukia. "WHO LED WHO!? We were right there beside you, and don't you _dare_ take credit for our decisions!"

"Yeah!" cried an indignant Renji.

"Besides, if anyone's to blame, it's Mr. Fukutaichou-with-no-sense-of-strategy!"

"Yea—hey!"

"Instead of giving into despair," Ishida bit out before the bickering could continue, "why don't we focus our efforts on escaping our restraints? Hmmm!?"

Pausing in embarrassment like the rest –except for Chad, who had been calmly straining to break free the entire time, even if he was strangely unable to activate the powers in his arms— Ichigo struggled to engage his brain some more. "Huh, that's a good point. Why would Hollows take us prisoner?"

"Well how else are we supposed to ask you questions?"

Almost giving himself whiplash at the speed, Ichigo craned his neck to see a teenager only a little older than him. He was resting his back atop of a tall, bulky piece of (unknown) equipment, which was why he had gone unseen before. The stranger's head was dangling off the edge so that he was staring at them inquisitively upside down. Then he smiled. "You guys were pretty stupid trying to break in here. But did you like the mechas?"

"They were a blast," said Ichigo, sarcasm dripping off every syllable.

"Oh good, Franky'll be glad to hear that! Do you have any suggestions to make them better? I wanted them to have giant laser swords, except he said he didn't know how. Although, that was before he found Four-Eyes' laser swords, and he's planning on later taking 'em apart to figure 'em out!"

"He took my Seele Schneider!?" sputtered Ishida, who was ignoring the return of his nickname. "And they're arrows!"

"Swords," repeated the youth.

"They're special arrows!"

"Swords."

"Enough!" snapped Rukia. "What do you want from us!?"

Pursing his lips, the teen squinted at her. "You really are stupid, aren't you?"

"What!?"

"We wanted to know why you guys attacked us."

"To save our friend!" yelled Ichigo, a familiar anger resurfacing. As bad as things were, he could not lose sight of his goal. He had to save Orhime and the others from this nightmare.

"What friend?" now there was genuine confusion.

"Orihime!"

"Who?"

"Inoue Orihime," and now Ichigo froze at that flat voice, and twisted his head to see Ulquiorra had arrived. "She was the woman that Lord Zoro deemed a 'freeloader.'"

"You!" snarled Ichigo, refusing to be cowed by this man. "Next time fight me fair!"

"I did not need help taking out trash like you," the pale-faced man neutrally said. "I was merely ordered to cooperate with the others."

"Aizen scared then?" taunted Renji, regaining his bravado.

"Aizen is dead. He no longer gives orders here."

His friends were stunned silent, while Ichigo's mind raced. "A coup against the Shinigami, huh?" he concluded, eyes narrowed at Ulquiorra. "You're top dog here, aren't you, and you turned on him!" Maybe they could work with that . . .

"You are mistaken, and hard of hearing if you missed my earlier words." Now it seemed like there was a flavour of amusement in that usually lifeless tone. "If the Espada ranking system still remained, I would be ranked closer to number ten."

Well, that was a blow to his pride.

Not to mention vaguely horrifying, as his blood ran cold. A Monster greater than Ulquiorra!? _Nine_ Monsters!

"Then who's in charge!?" spat Rukia.

"Lord Luffy," and the ex-Espada pointed at the guy who had been lying down and chatting with them earlier.

. . . Oh.

Huh.

Ichigo honestly did not know how terrified he should be. Because on the one hand, this lord Luffy had done nothing that screamed 'Evil Overlord,' while on the other hand Ichigo had seen how casually Aizen crushed a Taichou, only to lose to this new guy, and Ichigo and his friends _never even noticed_ _he_ _was right behind them the whole time!_ There was no telling what vast power Lord Luffy was hiding! Plus, given how effortlessly he had handled Ichigo and his friends, he was clearly a far greater leader and general than the Gotei 13.

Pouting, Luffy whined, "I told you not to call me 'lord.'"

Eyes closed, Ulquiorra merely said, "You are now the master of Las Noches. Respect is due to you."

Rolling his eyes (with his head still upside down, making it weird), said 'master' turned his attention back to his prisoners. "Besides, we returned Ori-girl a week ago."

"WHAT!?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

The picture of steely control and composure, Kuchiki Byakuya barged into the Urahara Shoten.

Going into the back, he came across the sight of a clearly drunk Urahara Kisuke sprawled over a table, empty bottles of sake scattered around him. "Oh, hey, Bya-kun," mumbled the man. "How're you? Me? I'm doing great. Only just spent a hundre' years plannin' tah kill ah guy, doin' monstrous thingies fer 'greater good,' only fer for 'em tah choke tah death. Yah 'ear me! CHOKED TAH DEATH! If'yad wanted 'im killed, I shoulda jus' sent 'im a gift basket!"

With that, the drunk mad scientist/assassin, broke down sobbing into his hands.

"Indeed," was all the stone-faced Byakuya commented. Suffice to say, it had been a considerable surprise when Ichimaru Gin and Inoue Orihime suddenly appeared back in the Seireitei, just after he had sent Rukia and Renji off to help Kurosaki. Obviously, everyone had been highly suspicious at first, but eventually they had all been convinced the war was over before it had really even begun.

Aizen's corpse had helped there, with it still being recognizable, and preserved for a thorough autopsy, despite Gin's post-mortem mutilations.

The man in question was currently in prison as they tried to sort this out—his fox-face endlessly smiling.

Inoue was currently helping out in the 4th Division, doing community service on the recommendation of Ukitake-taichou, with Unohana-taichou's approval.

"I am here because neither my sister, nor my Fukutaichou, have returned. You did bring them back before drowning yourself in spirits, correct?"

Urahara froze and paled.

Brow pinching, Byakuya tried next, "You _did_ provide them with the means to come home on their own, correct?"

Shooting upright and suddenly sober, Urahara broke out in a cold sweat.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

More Arrancar had joined the interrogation, and they were all having trouble believing that five people had thought they could stage a rescue attempt:

a) Without knowing their friend was already rescued.

b) Thinking they could actually pull it off.

Finally, c) they thought they could do it without having any means to actually _leave_ Hueco Mundo.

"Ichigo, you idiot!" raged Rukia.

"Well you came too!"

"I thought you got a way to get you out of here from Kisuke!"

"Fine then! We'll just punch Hats-an'-Clogs when we get outta here!"

A cough made them break off, as Chad wanted to speak. "Could you please let us go?" he asked. "This was all a big misunderstanding."

"Well, sure," shrugged Luffy . . . still upside down. Beaming a smile full of teeth, he said, "I can respect people wanting to help their friends. Also—"

A massive figure with blue hair barged in. "Hey, Luffy, we're all set!"

"Oh, excellent!"

"All set for what," Ichigo warily asked.

"Huh? Oh, well, we're all moving to the Human World since it's funner there. Except we didn't want to just leave this palace lying around, so we're sending it elsewhere."

". . . Where?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

In the Rukongai, North District 40, with a dull thump, there was suddenly a massive dome in what had previously been an empty (and scouted) field.

The residents looked up to see painted in colossal letters on the outside was: "NEW FREE HOME! WELCOME TO ALL!"

In waves, people from all the Districts migrated to settle into the oversized . . . the word 'building' did not really do it justice. Seriously, it was like a self-contained nation state, all on its own.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"SPAIN!?" yelled Ichigo.

"Simmer down," Ishida snapped, slapping his idiot friend over the head—he was well and truly out of patience. "At least they brought us with them."  
Indeed, the Arrancar were all busy now settling themselves in for a permanent vacation, starting in sunny Spain.

"Don't worry," assured Renji. "I can open a Senkaimon to get us to Soul Society, and from there you can go back home."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

It had taken the Seireitei a few days to realize the Rukongai was emptying out as people immigrated to their new palace home.

With the war over, the Central 46 was restored to full authority, and their first order of business was to have all the vagrants evicted from the place. The Gotei 13 supported this decision, as Gin had identified it as Las Noches, the former home of Aizen, and last seen in the possession of assorted Taichou-class Arrancar. Fortunately, said Arrancar had now been detected in the World of the Living, and no strong Reiatsu was detected from the place. Recon by Onmitsukidou operatives, only found squatters and low-level Souls to worry about.

It would be a simple matter to repossess the massive fortress. Either for the glory of the Seireitei, or to remove a tainted reminder of Aizen's treachery from history.

When several hundred Shinigami, none over 10th seat, stormed up to the front gate, swords drawn as a 'warning,' they were unprepared for massive doors opening up across the walls.

They were even less prepared for the mechas that came out . . .

 **—Seas of Souls—**

"You left the mechas behind!?" yelped Usopp.

"Well, I thought they could use some security," defended Franky, hoisting up a tankard of alcohol that was so massive that for aesthetics it had an actual umbrella sticking out of it. It was very pleasant at the beach. Who knew dunes of sand could actually be entertaining? The ocean was the selling point of course. Being Arrancar, they did not even need sunscreen!

Behind him was sombrero-wearing Starrk having a siesta. Meanwhile, Luffy, Lilynette, Chopper, and Nel, were clearly conspiring to bury him in the sand.

"Did you leave anything else behind?" groaned Nami into her hands.

"Probably. Why?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Weeks later

Truly and utterly furious, and nurturing an uncharacteristic grudge, Ichigo kicked open the door of the Urahara Shoten. Rukia and Renji stormed in right behind him, looking no less agitated. Even Chad and Ishida were frowning a little.

"Uhm, what happened to you guys?" asked a nervous Jinta. The 'rescue party' were all wearing ragged versions of what they had left in, and smelled like they had not washed them since then either. He was sure the Quincy was really regretting his dedication to white now. "It's been two weeks."

"Shut. It," hissed Renji.

Being stranded across the planet had been . . . an _experience_. What with how Chad and Ishida had been highly visible to any potential witnesses, and without any money or ID to help them get home. Now, _technically_ the _merry_ little band could have called for help, except Ichigo did not want his family or Tatsuki or whomever to know and worry, in a stilted voice Ishida said he had no one to call, and Chad grimly agreed. Except for Hats-an'-Clogs of course, if not for the _minor_ detail no one knew his phone number, and his shop was not mentioned in any directory.

So by the time everyone got back to Japan, they were _simmering_ in frustration. That Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji were all utterly starving did not help matters, having run out of the food the Arrancar had given them.

Slamming open a door, Ichigo paused on the threshold to the room he sensed Hats-an'-Dead-Man-Walking-Clogs in. He did not know how this was all the man's fault, but he just knew.

Except the shady man was not alone.

The Visoreds were there too, Tessai, Yoruichi, Toshiro, Rangiku, and some other guys he figured he should know, yet in a haze of exhaustion and frustration, could not name off the top of his head. And his dad!? What was Goat-Face doing here!?

"Ah, Ichigo," Hats-an'-Dead-Man-Walking-Clogs nervously said from behind his fan. "I'm glad to see you're all alright."

"We got dropped off in Spain by the Arrancar," he managed to bite out, and could tell some of the others were nervous by his tone and expression. "It took us another two weeks to get back here, because the useless Senkaimon WOULD NOT WORK!"

Stopping, he tried to regain his composure with some deep breathing. Hats-an'-Dead-Man-Walking-Clogs' eyes kept shifting towards Renji and Rukia, he was not the only one struggling.

"That's because it was shut off as an emergency measure," explained Toshiro. "Although there are still a few ways to sneak out of the Seireitei to the World of the Living."

"Huh? Why's that Toshiro?"

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou!"

"Uhm, we're kind of in the middle of a civil war," Rangiku nervously said. "And losing."

"Against who!?" gasped Rukia.

"The Rukongai."

(Ichigo did not know it at the time, but that was the point Rukia and Renji were clued in to the fact that everyone present were either exiles, high ranking officers who had grown up in the Rukongai, or Ichigo's idiot dad.)

"How's that possible?" demanded Rukia. "The Rukongai don't have anything they can fight the Gotei 13 with!"

"Giant robots," gritted out Hitsugaya-taichou.

"KUROSAKI-KUN!"

Any reaction by the 'rescue force' to Hitsugaya-taichou's revelation, was cut off as Orihime barrelled into the room from the other door, leaping forward to hug the target of her affections. "Thanks for trying to rescue me!" she gushed. Face flushed she quickly pulled back and tried to divert attention from what she had just done. "Oh, and I'm glad you're not in Soul Society with the ghost samurai fighting the cyborg zombies!"

". . . What?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Yesterday

Yamamoto Genryusai-soutaichou himself had been forced to take to the field as casualties mounted.

At first it had just been the mechas, yet as time passed, the rebels had rapidly demonstrated the depths of their depravity. Mechanical parts had been grafted onto their bodies, making them stronger, faster, and able to spit fire, shoot concentrated beams of energy gathered from Reishi batteries of some kind, and even missiles.

Kurotsuchi-taichou would have been fascinated, if he had not been among the first casualties.

(The initial reports had been spotty at best, and he had been too overeager in his desire to confirm the initial reports by grabbing residents as subjects for experimentation. Or any 'specimens' really, as he would have been more free to do so under the cover of war. Unfortunately, he set off so quickly that nobody was aware in time of how unwise it was to send a man whose Bankai specialized in shooting poison gas, up against something which did not need air to breathe.)

The Gotei 13 were outnumbered, and while the Taichou had won victories here and there, even they could not keep fighting forever, with attrition taking its grim toll.

Disgraceful.

Here was the Soutaichou of all people, being forced to fight, because there were no other Taichou to call upon. Regrettably, this was in part because the Central 46 had panicked as defection increased, and ordered the arrest of those Fukutaichou and Taichou who had come from the Rukongai. The majority of said officers had taken that as their cue to submit their retirement forms, and head for the hills. Grudgingly, he had to admit their reasons were not unfounded—it was truly a bitter pill to be condemned despite genuine loyalty and service. What Taichou he had left under his command, were unfortunately too exhausted, or too injured, to contribute any more. The rest were dead, or missing in action.

Moreover, Yamamoto did not see how they were to resolve this newest crisis without a massive headache that would persist for centuries. The nobles had vastly underestimated the rage and embitterment within the Districts, as well as how many of their own soldiers would betray their oaths to join to the rebels.

Directly ordering the Soutaichou to personally raze an entire District as a 'demonstration,' had only enflamed them to greater heights.

Thankfully, as best as they could figure, there were only a few dozen or so mechas left. Although even he was surprised that he actually had to put in some effort to take them down.

"Soutaichou! Soutaichou!"

He glanced away from tearing open one of the mechas with his bare-hands, fixing the annoying messenger with piercing look. "What?" he grunted.

"Sir! The Seireitei! This is a distraction! They're attacking the Seireitei itself!"

Eyes widening in horror, Yamamoto realized he had been lured out by a diversion, depriving the capital of its greatest protector, and leaving the remaining nobles vulnerable.

 **—Seas of Souls—**

Present

"By all accounts, there were nearly no survivors in the Seireitei," Toshiro stiffly reported. "The 4th Division escaped, along with Orihime," a sad look entered her eyes, "and a handful of others. Right now the remaining ranking nobles, and also the new clan heads, are Omaeda Mareyo, Kasumioji Rurichiyo, and," he gave a level look at one Shinigami in particular, "Kuchiki Rukia. Everyone else is dead, or unaccounted for."

(Shihoin Yuushiro was among the unaccounted, yet his big sister knew he was safe.)

"What about Kukaku and Ganju?" asked a worried Ishida.

Looking away with a pained expression, Yoruichi said, "They're among the leaders of it. Although I'd say the wholescale destruction of the city was led by one of the more radical factions. There's no way they'd have condoned that if they'd known beforehand."

Now Ichigo and his friends were all somehow more concerned. The idea of possibly fighting a friend, especially when they understood the sheer rage within the Districts, was far from comforting. No wonder their usually unflappable mentor was so distraught.

"The situation is dire," Hats-an'-Clogs heavily said. "We don't know what's happening in Soul Society now, and we need to be sure the Balance of Souls is maintained, or all the worlds may be destroyed."

Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, Rukia, and Renji all shared pained looks. Groaning, Ichigo said, "We may know a guy . . ."

 **—Seas of Souls—**

" _MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT~!_ "

Grinning at his ring-tone, Luffy answered his cell phone. "Hello, this is Luffy! Oh, hey Ichigo! What's up?"

 **—Seas of Souls—**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Death by choking is not a joke by the way. Not unless it happens to evil mass murderers.**

 **.**

 **Aizen's fate though, was heavily inspired by chapter 22 of "An Incomplete Potter Collection," by Racke Ouran. I recommend it even if you are, like me, unfamiliar with _High School Host Club_. **

**.**

 **Changes have been made to previous chapters by the way, to make Nel's speech more consistent. Also, the Straw Hats, thanks to Nel, now regard the Espada as the 'Ethpada' X-D**

 **.**

 **The part about Kisuke tracking Ichigo and Co. by their Reiatsu is my explanation as to how he managed to dump the next two waves of Shinigami so conveniently close. Because the alternative is that he was _blindly dumping_ them in an unknown world, and it was _luck_ that got them to the right place in time. **

**Honestly, this was all started from a scene from "True Warriors Never Die," by Kenchi618 which showed Ichigo's (moronic) thought process in which he thought attacking Las Noches on his own was a good idea. What really sold me though, was my laughing at how stupid it was running through the desert like that, in episode 25 of Bleach (S) Abridged, by Project Mouthwash on YouTube. However the more I thought about it, the more and more the outright stupidity of this rescue plan came out.**

 **In all seriousness, an alternate premise for this chapter could be: what if Ichigo and Co. never met Nel, and (especially) never got a ride on Bawabawa? They would have spent days trying to survive in the desert, with the reinforcing Taichou likely coming to join them in slogging through the sand. Meanwhile, Aizen could have just grabbed all his Espada to skip on to (fake) Karakura Town!**

 ***Deep breath***

 ***Another deep breath***

 **So yeah, invaded Hueco Mundo was not the highlight of Ichigo's career. It was only dumb luck, and Aizen (either to intentionally help Ichigo or not, because always take the psychotic liar's words with a grain of salt) giving commands that hindered his forces, that helped them survive. Here though, Ichigo is up against _Luffy's_ luck, and Luffy actually has people to talks to about things, and encourages them to take the initiative. **

**. . . I have said that Luffy is a better leader than both Aizen and Ichigo, and I do not think I am wrong either.**

 **.**

 **Do not read too much into Ulquiorra's comment about what his new ranking in the Espada would be. Ignoring how people (not unreasonably) state he should have been higher than Halibel even without Segunda Etapa, he does not really know how strong Luffy and Co. are here. All he knows is that they are alive, and Aizen is not, ergo they are in charge. Plus, the Straw Hats are not given to showing off their power, so Ulquiorra genuinely does not know how he would compare.**

 **In fact, I very deliberately made sure to not reveal anything too much here about the main storyline, sticking to what was not hinted at in previous chapters.**

 **Unfortunately there will be no more mechas D-':**

 **.**

 **. . . You know, this was originally supposed to just be a joke/satire about the Straw Hats doing a better job defending Hueco Mundo. Somehow it turned into a story with the rural peasants revolting against upper class by using mechas, and turning themselves into cyborgs . . . X-P**

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 **Next Chapter: "Settling In-Daytime"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	8. Settling In—Daytime

I do not own either One Piece or Bleach.

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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, mellra, KyonSmith13, and MasterQwertster. Could not have done it without you!

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Xodarap

Great to hear you love reading and re-reading this so much!

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

 **.**

Nobody styles 

LOL I like your line on how Luffy "recreated the freaking French revolution with kaiju sized mechs and cyber pirates in the soul society? Well that's a thing now."

Originally was not going to do the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc, said as much in an earlier Author Notes, but yes now I have _Plans_. :-D

I confess that is a less bloody and nauseous way for Zoro/Unohana to happen :-P

Not planning to do the beach filler arc with the Shinigami Women's Association thus far. Although I admit that would be a terrifying volleyball game. Probably the most violent since Azula from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ played :-P

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

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Seas of Souls

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Chapter 8: Settling In—Daytime

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 _Previously:_

 _After raiding Las Noches for about everything they could grab, the Straw Hats head to the World of the Living where they are utterly enchanted by the place. The final selling point though is when they see a sunrise for the first time in countless years. Unbeknownst to them, their new home in an abandoned warehouse is right next door to the Visoreds, a rogue group of Shinigami-Hollow hybrids._

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World of the Living

Karakura Town

Creeping across the land was light that pushed away the shadows.

Rising over the horizon was something too bright to look at, bringing a warm end to the empty darkness.

"The sun," whispered Luffy, as they squinted and shaded their eyes, still enthralled by its beauty.

"Wh-what is it?" whispered Lilynette.

Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Franky, Sanji, Chopper, Brook, Apacci, Mila Rose, Lilynette, Nel, Pesche and Dondochakka, all had tears in their eyes. The rest were not far off.

"It's the sun. It means the end of the night, and the beginning of a new day," Robin softly answered.

"A sunrise, and the dawn," added Luffy. "A new day. And a new age for us all."

.

.

.

After a while of staring, though, the Straw Hats were starting to cry from their emotions from it all. Plus the glare in their eyes.

The light from the sun became increasingly intense, but they tried to fight against the sensation until tears started to form. Unfortunately, this was a foreign sensation for Hollows.

"What is this water from my eye?" grumbled Zoro, wiping it while trying to remain stoic.

Franky pretended to ignore the tears, _knowing_ a real man showed no shame in such things.

"Troublesome," muttered Starrk, who closed his lids and looked away.

"Uhm," said Nami. "I think they're called 'tears'?"

"Well, what're they for?" demanded Apacci.

"I don't remember!"

"I think it's to help deal with the light?" offered Jinbe.

"No, it's how you show emotions!" argued Chopper, looking at the droplets in his hands.

"Which emotions?"

"Uhm, being sad. I think? Or was it happy?"

"That makes no sense," pouted Luffy, before brightening up. "Oooh, a mystery!"

By this point, they were all thoroughly distracted from the sunrise. Moreover, while they would carry the memory of its beauty for the rest of their days, they were remembering how they had originally left the warehouse to stretch their legs and get some fresh air. Instead their break lasted an hour.

Now the more responsible members were murmuring, however reluctantly, about going back inside to clean up their new home some more. Moreover, they all knew they could see this sublime sight every morning if they so wished. Plus, staring at the sun like this really was starting to hurt . . . .

"What do we do now?" Luffy eagerly asked, once they were back indoors.

Franky stretched out his arms wide, before eagerly saying, "We should keep unpacking! Who knows what sort of SUPER stuff we've haven't dug up yet?"

"There are some files I need to look over more," Robin serenely added. "I'll tell everyone the important details once I'm done."

Luffy was a bit downtrodden at his friends doing such boring things, but reluctantly agreed they should get their loot out of the bags some more. "Besides," he perked up, speaking his thoughts aloud, "I didn't get to see what you guys packed up!"

"Another nap sounds good to me," yawned Zoro.

"Same," Starrk said as he stretched his jaw, too.

"No, you idiots!" barked Lilynette, frustrated at the lack of exciting action. "Training! Or helping Franky find all the cool stuff we grabbed!"

"I've got some more cooking I want to do," said Sanji, which made the rest of them all perk up more. After all, for everybody except for Nel and her brothers, once they had successfully given up eating other Hollows upon becoming Arrancar, they had survived off of Reishi in the air, and eating what were basically rocky stick trees, which were decidedly tasteless.

"FOOD!" cried Luffy. Everyone else grinned in anticipation, and more than a few licked their lips. Bliss, pure bliss!

At that moment, though, the first real threat the Arrancar faced came from an unexpected source.

A certain, _strange_ sensation began building up at the thought of eating more food . . .

"Uggh!" moaned Usopp, clutching his gut. "Why does it hurt so much!? This pressure, it just, urgh!"

Concerned, the others came over to him, trying to figure out what was wrong, while Franky and Chopper scrambled to find something from all the boxes that would work as a medical scanner.

"Huh," mused Luffy. "Y'know, with our new bodies, and eating food and all, Usopp, d'you have to poop?"

Everyone stared at him in disbelief, before remembering a little facet of Human biology they had overlooked since attaining Shinigami powers, and had been subsisting solely on Reishi.

Rapidly peering around the cramped warehouse, Brook raised the next point. "Do we have anywhere to, well, go? Like, what were they called? Toilets?"

Panicking, Pesche waved his arms. "That creepy scientist guy would've had one! A toilet! Did we steal that, too!?"

"Yeah, of course we did! We had to carry it!" cried Dondochakka. "Where is it!? Don'tcha know!?"

Usopp was merely the first, as more and more of them began to develop cramps of varying intensity.

"Tch," grunted Zoro, keeping his face impassive. Halibel remained silent, yet she was helping toss things around to find a 'toilet.'

"How is this worse than being clawed!?" Nami weakly demanded. "Or cut? Or burned? Or—"

"We get the message!" snapped Apacci.

"I did see some toilets when I was organizing earlier," Franky said, eyes twitching at how his nakama were disturbing all his progress unpacking as they were haphazardly throwing things out of the remaining boxes and bags.

"What'th it look like?" asked Nel.

"Big and white," answered Chopper.

"No, these were pink!" Pesche said.

"Why?"

"Because the guy who owned them was a psycho, that's why!"

Scrambling frantically, the Straw Hats were miraculously able to find three toilets, which had even been in portable stalls—possibly to move them around while making adjustments to the building without having to change the plumbing.

During all this though, their self-control over their Reiatsu never wavered, which would later be a proud achievement for them all.

But with only three toilets available, the same could not be said for their tempers . . .

"Hurry up and get out of that stall, Mosshead!"

"Why don't you come in here and make me!?"

"Because there are some horrors a man shouldn't suffer, so I'll just kill you when you come out!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Shut up!" shrieked Nami from her own bathroom stall. "I can't hear myself think!"

"How do Living Beings endure this!?" moaned Lilynette.

"Well, I'm sure it's only this bad because we haven't done this since we were alive," assured Usopp.

"Yeah," said Dondo. "I bet Humans only do this once a week!"

"Oh, what a relief!"

"Wait one moment, please, Pesche," said Brook.

"What?"

"That was more toilet paper you just threw aside. And buried under other debris."

"Oh, is that what it looks like?"

"Yes."

"What are we going to wash our hands with?" asked Starrk. "We don't have any running water."

"Which is a disgrace," growled Sanji, turning his ire away from the Mosshead. "It's basic hygiene!"

Halibel was being studiously stoic, having sent her girls ahead of her in line, but they could tell she was really uncomfortable. With that distraction though, she closed her eyes for a long moment, before stabbing one finger at a part of the floor. "There's water running underneath there."

One quick hole later, Franky found a pipe carrying water, and discovered he was a highly competent plumber when under pressure. "Okay, just give me a minute, and I'll solder our own pipe on. We grabbed a few sinks, right?"

"Probably," said Robin. "In the meantime, I found some air fresheners."

"Oh, you are a Super goddess!"

"What'th thoap? Ith it yemmy?" asked Nel, holding up a clearly labeled bottle.

"If you mean 'yummy,'" Robin gently said as she plucked up the young girl and her prize, "no, it is not. However, it is something we definitely need. Well done!"

Well done indeed! Because for all the Straw Hats may yell at each other at times, with the exception of hitting Luffy when he was being an idiot, there was no actual violence between them; even with Zoro and Sanji. If any of the fighters drew blood from the other, their predatory instincts would rage, and in all likelihood it would escalate until somebody was dead.

Whatever they had been while alive, living in Hueco Mundo had changed them in more ways than were readily apparent. The Great Poo Crisis was the closest the Straw Hats came to blows with each other, but in the end they faced their greatest test yet, and emerged triumphant!

(They would later realize Luffy was the only one amongst them who did not use the facilities. Apparently his body literally processed and converted every single scrap of what he ate and drank.)

(After their initial consideration of that, the rest of the Straw Hats resolved to ignore this little detail on account of how it only got more disturbing the more they thought about it.)

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Urahara Shouten

Silently, Kurosaki Isshin watched Urahara Kisuke try to put together a proper defense for Karakura.  
It was not going so well.

Usually his friend did not keep him in the loop, except this time Isshin had insisted on getting details, despite the help the man had already provided. Yes, Tessai had gotten Karin (and Tatsuki) to safety when the Hollows first arrived, and now both of his beautiful daughters were back home behind a barrier and blissfully ignorant of the danger they were in. Unfortunately the invaders were still an imminent threat, and Isshin was feeling a kernel of concern for Ichigo. Maybe his son had gotten in over his head?

Regardless, Isshin had seen Urahara's surveillance feeds, displaying the resident Shinigami in town (who was utterly unimpressive aside from the size of his afro), and unable to contact the Seireitei for reasons unknown. Kisuke's own attempts to reach the Gotei 13, even at the risk of Soifon leading a kill squad after his head, had also met with failure. From what Isshin could recall from his time as a Taichou, at bare minimum, the entirety of the Twelfth Division would have to be gutted for them to fail to notice what was happening.

While it would have been handy to have someone check on Soul Society, Isshin knew they did not have anyone available trustworthy, strong enough to survive whatever may have happened in the Seireitei, while not so strong that their presence would be sorely missed if the invading Hollows went on the offensive in the meantime. He couldn't go back, Ryuuken would just give him Disgusted Glare #23 (I'm-Only-Even-Considering-This-Because-You're-Absolutely-Pathetic), and probably shoot at him, if he even suggested the man do it. As for Ichigo's friends, the only ones who might have fit the bill, were still over in Soul Society. Meanwhile, who knew what dire preparations Aizen's own lackeys were preparing for here in town?

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Straw Hat Warehouse

"Back, foul odor! Back, I say!" wailed Usopp, waving the air freshener in front of the toilets as if it were a crucifix to ward off zombies. "Back to the pits from whence ye came!"

"My goodness, why, oh, why must I be cursed with a nose!" moaned Brook, holding the offended organ.

"It'tha thtin' tho nathty!" yelled Nel, running around in circles without actually moving away from said toilets. This new game was fun!

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Urahara Shouten

Yes, whatever nefarious schemes the Hollows were up to in Karakura, staying put was the best –and only— option.

Besides, even if Kisuke were desperate enough to send him back to Seireitei –maybe thanks to him unveiling some sort of secret way to accelerate Isshin regaining his powers that he had been sitting on—it still wouldn't do anything. He would be executed for desertion and treason by the Soukyoku without trial, and when they dragged him up that hill, they would just ignore his words as the ravings of a deluded criminal trying to save his skin.

Fortunately, of _course_ Urahara had another trump card. And _of course_ his pal neglected to mention his other friends: Hirako Shinji and his gang of exiled Shinigami.

At least he knew now the official reports had been wrong, and the Visoreds had not been criminals intentionally trying to acquire Hollow powers through forbidden methods. Instead they had been victims of Aizen.

Isshin just wished he could feel surprised to learn this about Urahara or Aizen.

" _No,_ " said the voice over the speakerphone after Urahara finished outlining his plan.

"Well," the hat-wearing man tried, maintaining his usual lackadaisical manner, only to be cut off.

" _We don't care abou' this city or the Humans_ ," Hirako coldly said. " _We're sittin' put._ ' _Cause right next door'll be where Aizen shows up first. Then we'll jump 'im an' finish it once an' fer all!_ " With that he hung up.

Privately, Isshin knew the other man had a fair point. It was sheer dumb (and possibly bad) luck that the Hollows had taken up residence right beside the Visoreds. From what Urahara had offhandedly mentioned while giving Isshin a quick briefing –probably to leave Isshin too disoriented to start asking questions— the band of renegades were virtually undetectable, making the situation seemingly perfect for an ambush.

In their place, Isshin would probably be doing the same.

Oh- _kay_ , fine! No 'probably' about it, he definitely would do it!

Except he also could tell that Urahara was . . . 'concerned' was not the right word. Because even ex-Onmitsukidou were incapable of that. Moreover, Isshin was well aware the man was concocting anew an absurd number of plans and contingencies to handle this fiasco. So he would follow the man's lead without complaint.

Unfortunately, Isshin also knew that Aizen had stolen the initiative and taken the 'humble shopkeeper' by surprise, and apparently awoken the Hougyoku early, allowing him to begin creating his army. In contrast, the only 'pawns' Urahara had available were himself, one loving father, and Tessai.

For the life of him, Isshin had no clue how the guy was going to pull this off, but was looking forward to finding out.

Of course, even better would be Ichigo hurrying home already. Didn't he know his sisters were starting to worry? Dear Masaki, when did his son become such an irresponsible delinquent!?

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Visored Hide-out

Despite how angrily he had spoken to Kisuke, Shinji was quite calm as he hung up his cell phone. A marvelous invention. Beats butterflies any day of the week.

Even though he knew perfectly well what the rest of his family were doing right now, he still took the time to look around at the rest of his fellow Visoreds. Hachi was crouched down, mentally checking over his barrier for the hundredth time. Love was re-reading his latest manga since they were stuck within their underground home without being able to go out for more, and Shinji recognized that edition to be one the afro-haired man saved for when he was particularly stressed. In that same light, Rose was playing some soothing music to himself and everybody else. Hiyori was pacing back and forth, the aggressive young woman having been forbidden to be upstairs with the rest.

The Visoreds needed people outside, and safely behind the barrier, to spy upon their new Arrancar 'neighbours.' While said barrier kept the Visoreds perfectly undetectable, it also muted their own senses enough that they could not guarantee they would know what the Hollows were doing, nor when Aizen arrived. Lisa, ever the voyeur, was the first to volunteer. Kensei went along with her, as while he was every bit as aggressive as Hiyori, the ex-Taichou was more level-headed, and would react to _genuine_ threats. Predictably his former Fukutaichou, Mashiro, was at his side.

Unfortunately for their efforts, their new 'neighbours' had been too out of earshot earlier, and were now inside their own warehouse. They could very well be laying out in detail Aizen's schemes, and the Visoreds would never know.

"Tch, nothin' new," he told the others with his regular cheery attitude. In turn they stopped pretending to not be eavesdropping, and gave him their full attention. "Kisuke only confirmed those three ladies were the strongest, said that brat leakin' power's probably re-usable food, an' he asked for help. He has no idea why the Gotei 13 'asn't done anythin' yet."

"So does that mean Aizen's taken out Soul Society?" asked Love. Hiyori threw him a particularly volcanic glower, and the former 7th Division Taichou defensively said, "What? We're all thinking it!"

"Like we care what happens to the Shinigami!" she spat. "They can all just die!"

"It matters in terms of what enemies Aizen has," Shinji calmly reminded her, with the seriousness expected of a man who had once been a powerful and terribly insightful Taichou in his own right. "An' not ta mention the question of _how_ he pulled that off is pretty darn important in itself." He paused before adding, "Also not ta mention the question of what happened ta Kurosaki Ichigo."

The others shifted uneasily at that. As much as they recognized the necessity, and were driven by a dark need for vengeance, it remained distasteful how much they knew Kisuke was relying upon a hybrid kid to help them handle Aizen, and their own complicity. The brat was a little trump card with supposed enormous potential, but he was, until a few months ago, a civilian, an outsider with no business getting mixed up in the supernatural.

As Shinigami, they had all buried such moral concerns for the greater good. Being exiled for unwanted Hollow powers, becoming Visoreds, had given them a fresh perspective of what being on the other side of that 'greater good' really meant.

At the end of the day, Aizen had to die.

Unfortunately, now it was looking like it was all down to whoever was left in Karakura Town.

Except now they also had Arrancar showing up.

At first Shinji had been 100% confident that Aizen had sent them. They were wearing uniforms that were the antithesis of a Shinigami's, and the megalomaniac was the only person besides Kisuke who they knew to be experimenting on Shinigami-Hollow hybridization. Now though, something he had pointedly _not_ told Kisuke, he was only 80% sure, because these Arrancar were acting very strangely. Less 'advanced scouts,' and more like 'tourists,' according to Mashiro.

Certainly Shinji and the rest had no explanation as to why the Hollows had been staring at the sun for so long. Maybe they did not have one in Hueco Mundo?

 _Although, they're still actin' very . . . un-Hollow-like. I mean, I could've sworn they were cryin'!_

"I still say we should kill the Hollows to lure out Aizen!" snapped Hiyori, breaking his line of thought.

Granted, their group of exiles could take down the Hollows. Back in the old days it had been their jobs after all, as respected Taichou and Fukutaichou of the Gotei 13. The key words though, were 'old days.' No such obligations existed now. Only one left was to help that Kurosaki kid if he was indeed also a Visored.

If he was still alive, of course.

"We've been over this," sighed Love. "We can't let Aizen have the slightest hint we're here."

"So we bide our time," concluded Shinji. "For as long as we can."

Hiyori paused at that. "What does that mean?" she asked in a calmer tone.

Rose paused strumming his guitar and coughed into his fist. "We're going to need to make a grocery run eventually," he replied. As an 'artistic' man, he prided himself on his cooking, and liked to do it a lot for them. "But, once again, we can't go outside without risking revealing ourselves."

"We'll just play it by ear," Shinji said with finality. "Whatever Aizen's up ta, we'll make sure he regrets it."

Then his familiar, Cheshire grin returned. "Or if all else fails, we go ta our new neighbours ta ask fer a cup of sugar ta do some bakin'!"

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Relieved how the whole mess where she and the other Straw Hats dealt with the _consequences_ of eating was over with, Halibel was washing her hands in the newly installed sink.

 _Fortunately that's over with_ , she thought as she scrubbed. _Although it's ridiculous that out of everything we've been through,_ that _would be our greatest challenge!_

Rinsing off the soap suds, Halibel let the tension in her body relax as the water flowed over her smooth skin, relishing in the feeling. Water was a luxury rarely afforded within Hueco Mundo, and never to this extent.

While she used to regularly create her own water from Reishi to wash herself, the sensation of her own Reiatsu seemed to lessen the experience. Using Jinbe's water felt better —and before her joining up, his water was what the others used to keep clean— to wash with, but he could only create limited amounts at a time, and far less than she could. Here and now, though? Halibel felt like she could keep the water running indefinitely!

Endless water!

Feeling her call, some of the water from the tap began to flow up her arms, increasing the sensation. As a Vasto Lorde, Halibel and Jinbe retained some of their elemental powers even in their sealed state, and this was well within her abilities.

(Indeed, earlier she had spotted Sanji lighting one of those 'cigarettes' with a flickering flame which bloomed upon the tip of his index finger. He had been promptly banished outside by Nami though, as the smell offended everyone else within the packed warehouse.)

Beneath her mask and the scarf covering it, her lips twitched upwards in the unfamiliar sensation of a smile.

More and more the heavenly liquid swirled over her skin. One part of a seemingly bottomless whole. Infinite . . .

 _Infinite!_

Gasping with sudden comprehension, she dropped her control over the water and reached out with her senses, straining with all her focus.

"Jinbe!" she cried, before taking off in a blur of Sonido.

Wordlessly the large man trusted her and followed.

They raced across the city, moving at an angle which presented a new view. With a bright flash of the sun's reflection they saw it.

A _river_.

Even Jinbe was straining himself trying to keep up with Halibel as they raced there.

Quickly stopping, Halibel hovered over the rushing water, marveling at the sheer sight of it, the sublime beauty as it rippled away. She may have created more water at once in the past —such as her failed attempt to provoke Sanji into seriously sparring with her— yet deep down she knew she could never rival the seemingly endless volume that continued to move by. A mere drop of the vastness which spawned this . . . this . . . _this!_

Words failing her, she stopped manipulating the Reishi beneath her feet, and plunged down beneath the blue surface.

Halibel cried out in bliss at the sensation, twirling around underwater even as she felt the water shift as Jinbe shortly joined her.

Breathing freely even now, they swam about, feeling the sensation of the currents. Halibel's mask parted, letting the water flow against the entirety of her face, and drinking as much as she could manage. There was a definite taint to the water, doubtless the result of the Humans and whatever animals — _Fish!_ she remembered— lived here, yet it was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted. She knew she would cherish this experience for the rest of her life.

With a pleasant thrum, she recognized an ability she had never used before, as she sensed the precise location and general form of Jinbe and his movements, and the fish, without sensing for Reishi. An instinctive part of her mind knew it was something similar, if superior, to a shark's electroreception, allowing her to sense others in the water with utter precision. No doubt this was related to how she had known this river was here and ultimately feeding the pipeline.

She could also tell Jinbe could do the same. It truly was fascinating. What were the odds of two shark-based Hollows meeting and befriending each other? Especially as a part of her knew the Living animals were cannibalistic in nature.

Putting the thought out of mind, she joined her friend in dancing through the water, enjoying a way of life they had lost in death.

It took her awhile to realize how much time must have passed, and that the others, particularly her girls, must be wondering about them. Halibel reluctantly pulled herself out of the water, taking as much time as she would allow herself. Sitting against the riverbank with Jinbe, she readjusted her sopping scarf so it covered her Hollow mask. Once more her expression was one of calm detachment.

"Jinbe?"

"Yes?"

". . . Later, I would like to go visit the ocean. When we are done with this city."

Huffing in amusement, Jinbe grinned and said, "We did tell you 'senchou' means a ship's captain, did we not? Only appropriate we go sailing."  
"Excellent."

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

While Jinbe and Halibel were off doing whatever —everyone knew Luffy was keeping a close eye on them for any harm through his Pesquisa— the rest of the Straw Hats continued to work on making their new warehouse home more livable.

Well, as livable as can be for beings made up of dead Souls.

"It's weird with so little Reishi in the air," mused Usopp.

"It's thicker than what it was outside the city," pointed out Sanji. "So this place is probably a good spot to lay low for now after all. The more concentrated the natural Reishi, the harder it'll be for anybody to find us."

"Psh," scoffed Lilynette. "Like they'd come after us after Jinbe blew them away like that!"

"They're Hollows like us," Robin pointed out. "Hollows don't forgive attacks lightly. Doubtless they want to hunt us down and tear us apart in our sleep."

On cue, Starrk gave off a loud snore to display the depth of his concern. It was a testament to his ability to relax that he pulled it off, having spent all that time sleeping on sand dunes, and now having to make do with laying on a thin blanket thrown on a crate, and a small pillow.

If only they made something like a giant pillow to sleep on, but firmer for some back support. Alas, that was probably just an empty dream.

Lilynette visibly considered violently waking her partner up, before deciding this conversation was more important in the short-term. Not like Starrk was going anywhere. In fact, this was the perfect time to prove to everyone how mature she really was!

"There is one other thing," Brook pointed out. "Regretfully," nodding his head to where Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose were just joining them, "we came here before you three had learnt to really hide your Reiatsu. Others will be able to sense you."

"Not just us," remarked Sung-Sun, now wearing a shirt with wide sleeves to cover her lower face. Looking at little Nel, she said, "She is leaking large amounts of Reishi for some reason."

"Yeah!" barked Apacci. "Worry about the brat first!"

The girl in question was busy with Luffy, emptying out one of the bags to see what was inside, oohing and awing at what they uncovered. It was a real haphazard sack, containing Szayelaporro's former hair and eyeliner products (Luffy had given Nel half of a make-over before they both got distracted and forgot about it), a variety of biscuits to snack on (one box already empty), a satchel of spare scalpels and syringes (Chopper grabbed this for himself), and various highly delicate and advanced scientific instruments to analyze spiritual beings, which of course they were throwing back and forth like a game of pass.

Robin had taken the young girl aside earlier to the big sink Franky rigged up, and with Halibel's daughters holding up a blanket for privacy, had given Nel a bath. While not nearly as comfortable as Robin would have wanted for the child (they had yet to find where they put Szayelaporro's collection of bath salts and strange yellow birds), the stink was getting a bit much. Fortunately, Nel had treated it all like it was all another game, and Robin was happy to note no further scars aside from the one on her forehead which ran from a crack in her mask.

The very same crack leaking Reishi. A _lot_ of Reishi.

Enough to make one wonder how Nel was even alive.

While those Straw Hats observant enough knew something was wrong, they did not pry. Las Noches was a dangerous world, so a scar like that was no real surprise, and likely very personal. It was Nel's and her brothers' own business, and they had only met less than a day ago, so they were all still coming to know one another. If the trio wanted their new friends to know, they would say so.

"She's a bit too young to be learning that," Brook responded. Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as Pesche and Dondochakka barged back into the warehouse. They had been sent outside with Usopp to wash in two conveniently large buckets, and were now trying to run from their long-nosed friend while wearing nothing but the towels around their wastes.

"You'll wear pants and like it!" yelled Usopp.

"Noooooooo!" Pesche wailed.

"Nothing wrong with my old clothes, don'tcha know!" said Dondochakka.

"They need to be washed! Just put on this stuff until they're done," Usopp snapped, waving a large white garment from Aizen's stores. "At least you dress decently!"

"Brotherth!" Nel cried out. "Lookit what Nel ith wearin'!" She got up to twirl around in a cute, low hanging dress. While it was a plain white dress, the pattern of the black hem made it somehow stylish.

(Some might wonder why Aizen even _had_ a kid's dress, except it was originally for a fully-grown woman to wear while barely covering up her unmentionables.)

"Oh, you look very sweet Nel!" praised Pesche with a thumbs-up, with Dondochakka gushing right alongside him. Alas for the duo, this distracted them enough for Usopp to tackle Pesche and start shoving him into a pair of pants.

Lilynette and the others in her little discussion group watched the spectacle for a few minutes, before turning back to their original conversation. As entertaining as the sideshow was, they really should finish without further distraction. Although it had been pretty funny watching Nel 'helping' her brother by jumping up and down atop of Usopp to get him to stop, while accidentally and simultaneously pressing him down against a pinned Pesche. Meanwhile Luffy's laughter rang through the warehouse, putting everyone at ease.

"So you guys've got to actually get your butts into gear!" Lilynette ordered Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose.

"Oi, who'd you think you're bossing around!?" snapped Apacci. "The only reason you can hide so well, is because you're so weak!"

"What'd you say to me!?"

"There might be another solution," Franky said, interrupting what was to be another hissy fit. "Robin found a mention of Gigai, artificial bodies to let the Ethpada and their lackeys infiltrate the World of the Living."

"Cool!" beamed Luffy, ambling over. "Where are they?"

"Somewhere in that pile," deadpanned Franky, jerking a thumb at the small mountain of boxes and bags. While everybody had been making progress in unpacking earlier, the mad scramble to find toilets had created new piles of stuff dumped aside. Careful organization would be necessary for later attempts.

Zoro cracked open his only eye from where he had been resting. "Any way to narrow it down?"

"Nope."

Luffy took his own assessment of the chore ahead of them, and authoritatively declared, "Not before we've had some fun first! Senchou's orders! Sanji! We need a meal before we go!"

"Yes sir!" barked everyone in earshot, and the prepared to depart.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

As much as Franky wanted to keep going through the massive pile of stuff they had stolen from Las Noches, he also understood Luffy was right and he should look around town a bit. So he and his bro Usopp set off together, taking in the sights while dragging Starrk along by his ankle.

They also invited Apacci to keep her from fighting with her sisters, while planning on distracting Mila Rose by 'casually' wondering aloud if being a place so poor in Reishi would affect their skills, particularly swordsmanship. The busty lady was rather committed to her art after all. Surprisingly, all the trio wanted to head off together. Even Sung-Sun, who Franky thought would have wanted some time alone to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Before heading off, the Straw Hats waited for Jinbe and Halibel to get back, and the dripping shark duo had shooed everybody off to explore the city. Meanwhile, they would start looking through the piles for the Gigai, using the pictures Robin had brought up on a computer.

With that settled, Franky and Usopp went off at a brisk pace across the sky, wanting to see as much as they could. Meanwhile Starrk dangled in the air from Franky's grip, not even bothering to free his foot. "Why won't you let me sleep?" grumbled Starrk.

"Because otherwise that's all you'll do, and then Lilynette will throw a fit. After she's done beating on you, she'll accuse us of enabling you, which'll set off Apacci and Mila-Rose, and it'll escalate from there. Again," Usopp deadpanned.

"Yeah, and she'd be right!" threw in Franky. "You need to get out and smell the fresh air! See our new home!"

Looking about from ten or so meters in the sky, it became apparent none of the Humans could see the three of them in the air. Although it took a while for the Arrancar to realize this, as they were soaking up so many different things.

In fact, something of particular interest to them were the metal contraptions moving around at such a fast pace, carrying people and various items. Things which he was having an annoyingly difficult time defining. Thankfully hazy memories came to the fore for Franky, and he figured out the gist of these radical surprises. "Whatever those things are, I think they replaced horses," he speculated. A massive grin split his face. "Super!"

"Much faster though," noted Usopp. "How's that even safe?"

"How're the Humans doing that?" Starrk wondered. His own brilliant if underused intellect was prodded into motion as he was faced with an actually interesting puzzle. Back in Hueco Mundo, the most he had available was from talking with others, particularly Robin and her own wickedly sharp mind. It was easy to get into the habit of being lazy.

Starrk was also feeling rather uncomfortable seeing all the people gathered around. As much as he despised being alone, he also had trouble interacting with other people. For all that he had joined willingly, the Straw Hats had essentially dragged him in with their kindness, and patience for his and Lilynette's numerous (mostly Lilynette's) quirks, while they in turn adapted to the eccentricities of Luffy and the others. Now though, there were large crowds all around Starrk, filled with individuals and each of their own idiosyncrasies. It was almost overwhelming.

In fact, he could tell Franky and Usopp were a little uncomfortable, too. They were simply better at distracting themselves with everything else going on. However, now it appeared Starrk had found something intriguing enough to divert his own unease.

"We should take one apart!" declared Franky.

Looking around, Usopp spotted something better. "Or watch somebody else do it for us!"

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Tazuna grimaced to himself as he tried another adjustment to his truck's engine.

Under his breath he muttered some particularly foul commentary about what his supervisor could do with this junky engine. Ever since Tazuna (stupidly!) mentioned within earshot of the stuck-up man how fixing motor engines was a hobby of his, he had been assigned to drive all the oldest most unreliable trucks to serve as free labour. "No good union can kiss my—"

He stopped as something flickered in his peripherals.

Glancing aside, the wrench dropped from nerveless fingers at the sight of a bottle of Coke from his trunk hanging in mid-air!

It tilted back, and the pop poured out of it, only to disappear into thin air.

As if . . . somebody . . . was drinking . . . it . . . .

Gulping, Tazuna took a shaky step back, which the invisible drinker seemed to take as an invitation. They quaffed back the rest of the bottle, grabbed another, and the second bottle approached the engine. His wrench jumped into the air before being put down beside the tool bag. A shuffling motion and the sound of metal clinking against metal gave the distinct impression of somebody or some _thing_ ruffling through the tools.

Distantly he realized that the way everything was being held meant whatever was in front of him was a few feet taller than him as well.

The pop was put down beside the bag, and then the engine was being dismantled, piece by piece.

Only a touch of morbid curiosity to horror kept Tazuna from running away screaming.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Watching Franky dismantle the engine was a real treat for Usopp.

Franky was over the moon with not only his first new project in for _ever_ , but also that they were carrying 'cola.' While different than the big man remembered, he was guzzling it down without a care. Even now he was on his fifth bottle.

Starrk remained in the air, yet still upside down and following along as well with intense interest.

"Alright," muttered Franky, "this liquid seems to just shoot out at the windows for some reason."

"Maybe to make it shine?" offered Starrk.

"Or clean it," said Usopp. "Not just to make it look nice, you'd also need something to make sure the window didn't get too dirty so you can't see."

"Ah, makes sense."

"Good one, Usopp," smirked Franky.

"Ah it's nothing," said Usopp, looking away for a moment in false humility. This motion made him look around them though, and to his shock and dismay realized they had gathered an audience. About a dozen Humans staring at Franky in silent stupefaction.

 _Or rather_ , he realized with growing dread, _at the tools moving in thin air, and the drink disappearing into nothing. Who knows how long until everybody knows about us!?_

Usopp felt his skin crawl while being surrounded like this. After the oppressive desolation of the deserts when it was just his nakama, it was unnerving. Not as bad as it was for Starrk, yet still something uncomfortable.

An oily voice whispered inside of him how they were all prey, if unappetizingly weak. The dominant part of Usopp which is — or _was_? Whatever — Human himself, slapped down the pest, and put it out of mind.

However the incident reminded Usopp he did remain a hardened predator, an _apex_ predator in this world.

The Humans could not see them, and certainly not hurt them. Where was the harm?

An older part of him also chimed in how the Straw Hats merely had to be sure they did not abuse this opportunity. _You'll remember what it's like being with crowds of people, and how much fun it can be_ , it seemed to cajole. _Just be patient. It'll be worth it._

 _Besides, if it gets too bad, you can just catch a break while claiming you're just getting some space so your sheer Awesomeness does not overwhelm them all!_

Letting out a long breath, Usopp decided to observe the Humans now. Going back into the air a few meters for a better view, he examined them to learn what he could, and to _re_ learn what he could about who and _what_ were basically his new neighbours.

Maybe it would even help him and the others figure out his memory issues.

As he looked around, something else caught his attention. Strolling over in the air over their heads, he bent down to see what he recognized as a notepad. It was blank, with a few sheets torn out to the side with drawings on them. For some reason, he felt this was important as he picked it up.

Art. Yes, he had been good at art at one point, right?

Picking it up, he turned the bundle of paper around in his hands in fascination.

A voice broke through his thoughts, making him jump. "Uhm? Honoured spirit?" Whirling about, he saw a young man nervously bowing at him. "Please accept my humble notepad. And my pencils."

There was a whole case of them, and they looked very fine, but Usopp only took a single one. Returning the bow, he hoped the Human got the message from how the notepad dipped in place, and ambled back over to Franky.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Later

Trying to control his shaky legs, Tazuna climbed into his truck.

The entire thing had been disassembled into every single piece and put back together again.

Within . . . how long had he been standing around? A few hours!?

Gulping, he looked at his watch when he noticed a persistent beeping noise that had followed him into the truck cab. Realizing the source, he paled and frantically pulled out his pager only to discover he had a number of messages from his supervisor demanding to know where the delivery was. Half of Tazuna's pop was gone now, so he was genuinely unsure how to respond to this.

The truth?

HAH!

Wait . . .

He popped his head out the window and opened his mouth only to choke on his dry throat. Trying again, Tazuna called to the crowd of stunned spectators which had only grown. "Did anybody happen to take any pictures?"

Their expressions of confusion and regret were answer enough.

Great. Now what?

The truck suddenly rocked as if somebody, a certain _impatient_ somebody, was telling him to get driving to test out the repairs.

Swallowing again before rattling off a quick but decidedly heartfelt prayer, Tazuna then turned the key in the ignition and started to drive. He may as well deliver what little pop he had left. Maybe the routine of it all would let his nerves settle a little.

To his pleasant surprise, his truck drove more smoothly and softly than before.

Of course, what else would you expect from spirits? Or was it gods? Godly spirits? Clearly he needed to brush up on those 'myths' he had dismissed as a young boy.

. . . Never mind his supervisor, how was he going to explain his day to his _wife_?

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Nami's hands twitched as she walked through a wall to behold the outfits within what apparently entirely a storehouse for women's clothes. Glorious!

Already she could see several designs she intended to 'borrow' indefinitely.

Ooooh, and the cat Arrancar just _knew_ that Halibel would love that scarf over there! Her friend seemed to prefer covering the fragment of her mask which covered most of her face, except they only had a single one from what they stole, and you could be sure it would get dirty and tattered soon enough.

Hmm, Lilynette would probably like that kimono. And maybe one for Sung-Sun, too? What about the others?

Something else caught her eye, and Nami rushed across the air to get a closer look.

Cocking her head in curiosity, she asked aloud, "What are bras? We didn't see anything like that in the stuff from Las Noches."

Something was niggling at the back of her mind though, fuzzy memories trying to be heard.

A ringing sound interrupted her thoughts, and she saw a woman come in and start turning on the lights. Checking to make sure the clothes were all still here?

Nami looked around a bit longer, and was about to leave when a brief ringing sound caught her ear. Going over to investigate, she saw the Human putting some stacks of flat rectangular objects decorated with slightly different various colors, patterns and faces into a boxy machine. Paper?

Comprehension struck like lightning as her memories slotted home. This was a store! The woman was putting in _money!_

 _~~Money~~_ whispered the melodious word.

Shaking her head, Nami stopped to think about the situation further. Obviously she could steal all the products if she wanted to, and in fact had been heading off to grab some more of the ladies to help her carry it all. However, if she bought the stuff, maybe with those Gigai thingies Franky was mentioning, she could make special orders! Oh, and find out what 'bras' were.

Now, how was she going to get some money?

 _~~Money~~ ~~Money~~ ~~Money~~_

Make that a _lot_ of money, Nami knew as she danced on air, because she was willing to bet this town had a lot more to offer than just this!

 _~~Money~~_

 _~~Money~~_

 _~~Money~~_

 _~~Money~~_

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Atop the highest building in Karakura Town, was a most unusual sight.

On the apartment tower, only about fifteen stories high, Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose were enjoying a rare moment of peace amongst themselves. As much as they constantly fought, belittled, and otherwise antagonized each other, there remained a deep bond between them which went beyond merely cooperating because Halibel told them to. After all, they were her _daughters_ , a description they had embraced, and so deep down they did genuinely and strongly care for one another.

How else could three entirely separate Hollows come to possess the ability to merge and multiply their power to create Ayon?

This city had nothing on Las Noches in terms of size or grandeur, yet it was colourful and alive in a way that that palace and the entirety of Hueco Mundo could never match.

Apacci chose to break the silence and admit aloud what they were all thinking. "This place is nice."

"Yes," Mila-Rose softly agreed.

"It's good for Halibel as well," Sung-Sun added. Once she would have said "Lady Halibel," and the others would have furiously berated her if she failed to do so, yet their time as Straw Hats had left them much more informal. Relaxed with each other in a way foreign to Hollows. "You saw it too, right? Not just when she and Jinbe came back from the river, I mean the way she was when we saw the sun."

Her mother's eyes, usually cold and sharp, had lit up with awe and hope and other emotions Sung-Sun could not describe. It was proof that all their Sacrifices to reach this far had been worth it.

"I did," Mila-Rose agreed, with Apacci nodding along. Feeling she needed to contribute more than just agreeing with whatever the others said, the statuesque woman tacked on, "Or how she looked while eating all of Sanji's food?"

Only Luffy had eaten more than her, and their arms had been nothing more than blurs across their plates.

(Although they had no idea how Halibel was getting it through her mask. The current theory was it actually hinged like some other Hollows, and she was moving too fast for anyone to see.)

"It _is_ delicious," Apacci defended with a spark of her usual temper. As annoying or even outright infuriating as Sanji could be, no one could criticize his cooking.

"Oh, yes."

"No question. It was just nice to see her so . . . enthusiastic. Happy." Not that they saw her actually smile, but they knew. "This place, with the Living, it's good for her."

"For all of us," Sung-Sun said with a bit more force. The others turned to look at her, and she elaborated. "We finally have a chance for a better life than we ever had in Hueco Mundo."

"Obviously," Mila-Rose frowned a little. "What's your point?"

"My point being that we have to be sure we don't actually _destroy_ this city. You can feel how much weaker everyone here is to us. Weaker than most Hollows in Hueco Mundo even. To the point we have to be careful we don't accidentally hurt or even kill them all."

The penny dropped for Apacci and Mila-Rose, and they grimaced as they realized she was right. With their strength, they would have to be careful they did not wipe out the town by sheer accident. Including during any further arguments with one another.

"What if the guy really deserves it?" offered Apacci. Obviously if anybody was going to do something to irritate them, it would be a male.

Sung-Sun said nothing, trying to think of a good counter-argument, only for Mila-Rose to come up with it. "If Humans start dropping dead," —from having their heads crushed like overripe fruit— "then the rest will probably run away and soon the town will empty up. Not like they can fight back."

Grunting, Apacci bit out, "Fine! Whatever."

"We can still smack them around," Mila-Rose reminded her.

"Better." Also agreeing, Sung-Sun gave a slight nod.

"What about our Reiatsu hurting the Humans? That's not going to be a problem, is it?" asked Mila-Rose.

"Don't be stupid," scoffed Apacci. "If it was gonna do that, they'd already be dropping like flies!"

"Why you—!"

"It wouldn't hurt to train some more later on," Sung-Sun smoothly interrupted. "Just so there's less chance of Aizen's slaves or the Shinigami finding us."

"Not if it's going to interfere with our other training!" snapped Apacci.

"We'll have to do that further away from the Humans," said Mila-Rose, which made the others state their agreements. Ayon was the very sort of ability which could level this town in a few minutes at most.

In fact, the reason their ability to suppress their Reiatsu was so far behind the others was not mainly because they had joined the Straw Hats so recently. It was more because they had been spending so much time trying to learn how to properly control Ayon. As Luffy taught them, strength is control.

With that settled, they went back to enjoying the view for another hour or so, before drifting back to their new home. It wasn't like there would be any consequences for leaking Adjuchas-class Reiatsu all over an inhabited city, right?

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

When everybody split up to explore, Luffy left Nel behind to play with her brothers and Zoro, who last he checked was having trouble finding the door out of the warehouse. Instead he chose at random to explore with Chopper and Robin.

"Books?" asked Luffy.

"Yes," said Robin with her special, all-knowing smile. "I had forgotten about them until I found some in Las Noches."

"Me too!" chirped Chopper, strolling on air two stories high beside them. "So I was wondering what kind of medical knowledge is available in the World of the Living."

"As well as a good way to find out about the World as a whole," said Robin. "Customs, adventures to be had, recent history, with books the possibilities are endless."

"Well that sounds great," grinned Luffy. "I'll do something else though!" He remained hazy on what a 'book' was, but it did not sound too fun.

"Oh, that looks promising!" chimed Chopper, pointing with one finger.

The words 'Book Store' on the shop window certainly gave that impression, while Luffy was intrigued by the park across the street. "I'll give this a look while you're with your backs," he proclaimed.

"Books," Robin gently corrected before he took off with a shot.

The two intellectuals discretely entered the bookstore by phasing through the window, stopping to bask in the sight and smell of all those _beautiful_ books.

Conveniently there were signs saying where all the different topics and contents were, and there was only one person in the store. Experimentally Robin poked an upright book so it plopped on its side. Immediately the woman at the desk perked up, and hurried over to see what was wrong. Mumbling something about the wind, she set it upright, oblivious to the soul-eating ghosts who passed right by her. Robin grabbed a book on world history, and another from a pile about 'Japanese' history. Apparently 'Japanese' was important here. Following her lead, Chopper grabbed a book from the science section about pharmacology, which stirred happy memories.

They ducked around some shelves before the lady turned around, and tested to see if they could phase the books through the window with them. Confirming they could not, the two of them settled down to quietly read within the store. Robin chose an angle which allowed her to keep an eye on the apparent owner through a gap in the shelves, as well as keep an eye through the window at what fun Luffy was up to.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Hueco Mundo had been a difficult experience for one Monkey D. Luffy.

The never-ending violence of eat-or-be-eaten had forced him to behave entirely serious, all the time. Otherwise, his nakama might die, and he knew being alone was worse than not having enough time for fun. In fact, it had taken a while for Halibel and Starrk to really understand that the seemingly mature and wise Vasto Lorde they had initially met, was not the 'real' Luffy.

Here and now?

Here and now? Adventure! And the Freedom to be his own, true self!

"WOOHOO!" cried out Luffy as he spun around a merry-go-round at high speeds before finally being flung off of it. Laughing he kept rolling on the ground until he found himself amongst a bunch of dandelions. "Oooh!"

As much as he loved to run after whatever new thing caught his eye, he also appreciated the need to sit down and absorb what was right in front of you. Especially for something so alien to Hueco Mundo. So Luffy took his time sniffing the flowers and drinking in the sight of them. He was so still, almost unnaturally for someone of his usual attention span, a bee even came to start buzzing around the flowers. "Because it's spring," he teased out, jumbled memories of looking at flowers with a lady with . . . green hair? A relative of Zoro's? Meh, not important right now. "Awesome!"

Young voices shouting got his attention, and he skipped over to a patch of cement where a couple of kids were launching spinning discs down into a wide plastic bowl. Oh, and they were hitting each other.

"You stand no chance against my ultimate dual-blade disc attack! Go mighty Tiger Warrior!" boasted one boy.

"Hah hah! You don't have the Heart of the Disc!" retorted the other. "My Sapphire Dragon disc will defeat you for sure!"

"It's a battle?" wondered Luffy aloud with awe, staring intently at the discs still slamming against each other. "Is this how Human's fight each other? Cool! Why're you fighting? What's so special about those discs? Is it fun? Should I do that instead of punching jerks? Nah, I like fighting. Not as much as food of course, but we only just got Sanji cooking again now. He's _so_ happy 'bout it! Do other people cook as good as him here? No, probably not. Oooh yeah that's neat how they smack against each other! Guess this is better than getting eaten, but not as fun as an actual fight. You're not strong enough for that though."

Deaf to Luffy's rambling, the kids cheered when the disk Sapphire Dragon triumphed.

"NOOOO!"

"YES! I banish your soul to the Phantom Realm!"

The loser fell over, eyes closed and tongue sticking out as he laid motionless.

"Why're you laying like that?" asked Luffy, remaining unaware they could not hear him. "Your soul feels fine."

Suddenly the 'soulless' kid popped back up, "Hah! Thanks to my pact with the Greek Gods, I am free of the Phantom Realm, back to wreak my vengeance!"

With that, the Duel Disc Contest for the Sake of the World resumed, with Luffy an avid spectator, cheering along with them.

Eventually though, the Vasto Lorde wandered off to follow some butterflies, followed by another romp among the dandelions.

"That looks fun."

Looking up, Luffy gave a sunny smile to Robin, "You bet!"

"Ooh, I want to try too!" cheered Chopper, handing Robin his share of the books they 'borrowed' before hugging the ground to get up close and personal with the plants. Chuckling, Robin knelt down to examine the dandelions too. "We should get a garden," she mused, knowing that there were proper flowers out there.

"Sure!" said her Senchou. "Hey Chopper! Let's go try that thing over there!"

"What thing?"

"The thing hanging by two ropes! A, uhm, swing? Yeah, swing! I'll push you first."

"Okay!"

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

Straw Hat Warehouse

Humming to himself, Franky finished up the final touches to his newest toys.

Peering over them curiously, Chopper queried, "So these are those 'Gigai?'"

"Yep. Apparently Shinigami use them when they want to interact physically with the World of the Living. Puts their body in a sort of fake, Human shell."

Franky was particularly interested in getting those going, as that way he would be able to properly appreciate cola again. The problem was that while the stuff he and the others had brought with them was made of the same matter as this world thanks to the conversion process, their bodies remained composed of Reishi. Fortunately they could still interact with the material world to a degree, and for some reason he had been able to taste the cola, but his body could not process it. His stomach had just been holding what he had drank, until Chopper removed it. Once he had a proper, physical body, it would be time for them to have fun.

(He still had no idea as to why they could go through walls, but then hold tools. His best guess though, until he and Robin had the chance to look at the computer records properly, was that even objects held a miniscule amount of Soul to them. Enough for him and the others to unconsciously manipulate to a limited degree.)

"Why would Arrancar have them?"

"Reading between the lines on what Robin said, basically the guy we ripped off is a weasely suck-up. He made them so he could prove to his master, that Aizen guy, he could. Plus have them available if Aizen ordered the Ethpada to infiltrate Karakura. That was his real reason. Lucky for us though, since he put in a lot of useful doo-dads."

"Oooh, like built-in rocket jets!" gasped Chopper.

"Super idea! I'll see what I can do for the next generation. Point is, we can retain some of our combat abilities despite being, quote, Human. Unquote. Also, they incorporate something to supposedly make them detectable only to fellow Arrancar. Apparently we've got some bracelets around here which do the same."

"Awesome!"

"I know, right!?" Leaning back, Franky folded his massive arms behind his head. "Just what we need to keep ourselves hidden away." He scowled a little. "Problem is we only have a few right now. These Gigai will take on the appearance of whichever one of us uses them, so no trouble there. Only that we can't all use them at the same time. It'll take me a while to get more up and running you understand."

"No problem," Chopper rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Can I try one out first?"

"Sure can do!" boomed the equally giddy man.

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

The Straw Hats were all gathered together to watch the sunset.

However, the sight of the sun dipping down over the horizon did not make them sad, for they knew it would rise again for a new day.

More importantly, the city remained lit up showing it was still awake and alive, and a bunch of the Straw Hats remained just as active, ready to see what happened next.

Their adventures earlier today, and the ones to come, would be the first ripples of change across the world. Repercussions which would bring tears to gods, break armies and create other ones, inspire new forms of art and beauty, and shatter fate.

Not that the Straw Hats were concerned about such trivialities. Time to go see what fun they could have next! Party 'til they drop!

 **—** **Seas of Souls—**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Did a bunch of rewriting for chapters 2 and 5. Nothing major, but cleaned up the wording, and made a few small changes to improve consistency.**

 **.**

 **Yeah, many readers** **were** **hoping for the last two** **chapters for Straw Hat shenanigans-and for good reason, as** ** _One Piece_** **is the superior series. However, this story is not just about them. After all, it would quickly become a bland story if they were the sole individuals driving the plot, with the** ** _Bleach_** **cast doing nothing but reacting.**

 **Make no mistake, Ichigo and Co. will be active participants in what is to come, and while the Straw Hats may have started the AU ripples, many of decisive decisions to come will also be made by others, and it was important to lay the foundation as to** ** _how_** **they will come to those opinions-for better or worse. Plus, it was a good opportunity to show the beginnings of said AU ripples. Finally, there is character development I want to see done for the** ** _Bleach_** **cast, and it would be impractical and unlikely for them to be all connected to our favourite pirates.**

.

 **My thanks to Roo808 who brought up that point about poop, and made me** **wonder if** **maybe the reason that Luffy keeps asking about poop is because he sincerely does not. I mean, look at those times he rapidly** **processes** **an enormous amount of food and then gets right back to what he is doing . . .**

 **.**

 **The part about how Halibel eats even with her face covered is a shout-out to "Sea of Second Chances" by OceanLord2017. Keep it up with those sharks! :-D**

 **.**

 **I strongly recommend readers try out "Soul of Fire," by Zeionia aka Disturbed. It is a** ** _Naruto_** **and** ** _Bleach_** **crossover, and honestly probably the best example of a** ** _Bleach_** **crossover I have read – I abstain from considering my own due to bias :-P – and seriously helped me get into Ichigo's character.**

 **-0-**

 **Finally, I and other authors have been having difficulty getting PMs through email as usual. If you leave a comment on this fic and want to see my reply, check your PM folder on this site instead of email.**

 **-0-**

 **Next Chapter: "Settling In—Nighttime"**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


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